Keller's Little Cahoot
by IAmCoolLikeThat
Summary: Chris Keller is back in Tree Hill, but add five years of mystery and Chris has clearly got some issues. Of course, now that he's back, the others will have to deal with Chris and his problems in third person. NH & NHJ centered.
1. A Risky Collaboration

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of the characters, I just enjoy writing for them. No Copyright infringement intended.

* * *

Hey! So, this story takes place during the sixth season after Haley gets fired. A Refresher? Haley is now full-time producing at Peyton's label and, like the beginning of season five, Jamie tags along with Haley to work. Nathan is mostly in Charleston and Deb is M.I.A. somewhere... it seems.

For all of those interested, there will be **Naley.** Also, I really hope I do the characters justice. Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated!

* * *

**-1-**

"Jamie, sweetie, we're going to go with Peyton to get some quick food she's craving. It's not going to be McDonalds or anything; it'll just be healthy. Your Aunt Peyton is already waiting in the car. Are you ready?" Haley asked her son while holding up a box full of old baby toys that used to be Jamie's and were soon to be the next baby Scott's.

Jamie thought about the last time he was with his Aunt Peyton in the car and seemed to remember her being gassy and whiney from the hormones of pregnancy. As much as he loved his Aunt Peyton, he would much rather have a less pregnant woman to be around. "Um, can I stay and watch Mia sing?" He asked his mother with anticipation.

"Mia? Umm… sure, honey. If that's okay with her. She is a little busy right now working on some new music, but I'll go ask her if that's alright."

Haley quickly walked into the sound booth of the studio and through the window Jamie could see them talking and exchanging many smiles. When she came out, Mia followed.

"You're stuck with me, kid." Mia informed the boy. Relieved, Jamie gave a big smile because he would be able to stay in the cool looking studio with someone who likely was too busy to fully watch him. People never stopped watching him since the "Nanny Carrie Incident" and so he rarely got a chance to even risk being mischievous. Today would be a new and improved situation for him.

"Okay, honey, now you be good. I don't want to hear any little boys in the background of Mia's vocal recordings when I get back unless it's intentional by her." Haley winked at Mia and continued saying, "I should be back in about an hour. I love you!"

"I love you too, Mamma!"

Haley then gave Jamie a kiss on the top of his head and then left through the door, outside to the parking lot, and back to Peyton.

"So, do you play an instrument?" Asked Mia.

"Umm, well my mamma tries to get me to play guitar and piano, but I'm not very good at them. I can play basketball though!" he exclaimed.

"Well, there's not really a lot to play basketball with in the studio, but I have some things you could draw with. Would you like that?"

"Okay."

"Okay! Then I'll be right back. Just wait awhile while I get you something. It may take some time to find, so just sit tight."

She walked back into the sound booth and buried her head into some bags in a corner. The materials would be hard to find, seeing as Peyton was always too busy to draw anymore.

As Jamie looked around the room he saw the big comfy producers' chair that his mamma was always sitting in. He was never allowed to sit in it because it was a "grown-up chair". So, naturally, he went to sit on it because no one was watching. Once he sat down, he spotted another thing in the room, a basketball. _"'… not really a lot to play basketball with,'"_ he remembered Mia saying. _Oh well_ he thought. Attached to the basketball was a card in the shape of a heart with his mamma's writing on and it was addressed to his daddy with a whole bunch of words he didn't understand. He ripped the card off and tossed it aside. He would put it back on when he was done playing with it.

As he started dribbling while still in the chair, he heard a door creak open. Thinking it was Mia coming back, he tried to find a place to hide the ball quickly, but didn't find a place in time before he was interrupted.

"Well, well, if it isn't someone playing basketball in Tree Hill. Not even in a music studio can you find people who aren't playing basketball." Said a tall, spiky haired brunette from the doorway Jamie wasn't expecting a voice to come from.

"Who are you?" asked Jamie.

"Who _am_ I? Dude, you don't recognize me?! What... you don't have any posters of me up here? As an acclaimed and successful Tree Hill musician, I'd think that in a Tree Hill studio I'd be up on the wall somewhere. No worries, I always bring my own posters just in case this happens."

He opened up the guitar case he was carrying and pulled out a poster of himself and some tape to hang it up on the wall. As he hung it up, Jamie was more interested in the pictures he had stuck on the inside of his guitar case. In quite a few of them, he saw a woman who looked strikingly like his mother, but because of the blonde hair, and in a few pictures light brown hair, he was unable to tell if it was her for certain because the entire time he's remembered his mamma she has always had dark brown hair. Before he had time to ask the stranger about the woman, Mia stepped back into the room because, although she was heavily concentrated on the task of finding Peyton's old art supplies, she was not completely oblivious to the fact that, with the Scott family, anything could happen at any time. Mia had made sure to make frequent glances through the studio window and into the room where Jamie was seated. Yes, she saw everything he was doing. In her opinion, he was probably one of the easiest kids to look after. Minus, of course, the kidnappings by his former dead nanny. Jamie meeting a stranger in the studio while he was alone, but under her supervision, wasn't something she thought would make Haley happy. She knew she needed to intervene on Jamie and this man's conversation.

"Chris Keller! You're here earlier than I thought you'd be. Jamie, this is Tree Hill's own Chris Keller. I invited him to do a collaboration with me… which means we're singing a song together. What brings you here early?" Mia asked Chris.

"Well, Chris Keller was interested in seeing the producer before he started working, but he found this boy sitting in the chair he thought he'd find Haley James. Not only did you not have a poster of me, but you've also got little kids working here? I-"

"Haley James Scott!" Jamie exclaimed.

"-what? Oh, yea, Nathan. Last time I saw him he was with Haley, his annoying brother, Brooke, that angry chick Peyton, and two other guys in my tour bus on some road trip to Texas. Haley probably could have taken up half of it because she was so preg- Oh," he looked at the boy before him. "you know, you sort of look like Haley. I didn't know she slept with Nathan's brother though. Let's see, you must be around six or seven, right?"

Confused, and having no idea what he was talking about, Jamie simply answered, "I'm six." And held up six fingers.

"Wow! So then Haley was pregnant with you while she was still with Nathan? Wow, when Haley and Lucas slept in the same bed of our hotel room in New York City near the end of our tour, I didn't realize what kind of freaky stuff was happening in that room. They always seemed platonic towards each other, but I guess-"

"What are you talking about?" Asked Mia, who was as confused as Jamie.

"Lucas and Haley. The kid. Who knew the Haley-Chris-Nathan triangle also included the Lucas?"

"Oh yea, you're that person she was talking about…" Mia said quietly and not to be heard by the others in the room. Speaking louder now she said, "Well, for all I know Haley's always been madly in love with Nathan and Lucas has nothing to do with Jamie's existence."

"Oh." Said Chris. "Well, Chris Keller may not have good judgment in this situation, but he assures you, the music he's been working on has much thought put into it. We should just get started."

"Yea, we should. I'm a fan of your music and so I trust that what we will get will be good." Mia stated. Truthfully, she usually only listened to "When The Stars Go Blue" because her good friend, producer, and mother of the child she was babysitting Haley was on it, but she knew that working with Chris Keller was good to treat the people of Tree Hill and it was also good for her music.

Mia went back into the sound booth, but Chris stayed behind to use the guitar tuner he had in his case. He could have just used Mia's or brought his own inside the other room, but the little boy before him was so intriguing and had so many noticeable similarities to his mother that he decided he'd need to get to know him better.

"So," Chris said, "Now that you know I'm kind of big around here, what do you want to know about _the_ Chris Keller?"

Jamie kept wondering whether or not the Chris in front of him was _the_ "Chris Keller" or if he was referring to a completely different person he hadn't heard of. He had met some pretty confusing people, but never any as confusing as this. By this time, he had remembered of the old box of newspaper articles about his mamma on tour that his daddy once showed him. In many of those articles, pictures of his mamma and this stranger before him were included. Usually from that time in his mamma's life, all of the pictures taken of her with other people were of her really close friends that he now mostly called is uncles and aunts. "Are you my Uncle Chris?" he asked.

"Uhh, well I don't think so. Not unless your mother was also sleeping with my brother. Hey, that rhymes. Kid, you give me some inspiration. I've been needing some new song lyrics."

"Why do you keep saying my mamma is 'sleeping with' people? What does that mean? My Mamma only sleeps with daddy and sometimes me when I'm scared."

"Hey kid, I thought you'd want to know about, like, maybe Chris Keller's girlfriends? Wouldn't you rather want to know how I slept with them?" He continued tuning his B string and then panicked, "I mean, uh, umm-"

"I don't know what that means. Is Uncle Lucas my daddy?"

"Dude, you sure got his looks. I'd do a paternity test one day just to make sure. In all honesty though man, nah, I doubt it. I'm sure your parents can only be meddled with by one person and that's Chris Keller himself."

Jamie was now finding all of this new information very interesting. He didn't know exactly how to respond to what he was saying about him meddling with his parents, so he just asked Chris, with much struggle to say the word paternity right, what the test was.

"_Pat-er-nit-y_. It's what they make those shows like Maury out of, you ever watch that? To find out if you really are biologically belonging to your parents or whatever."

Chris had just finished tuning his last string and he could see Mia impatiently waving to him and wondering why he didn't follow her when he suggested they go to work. Just then, through the door Chris Keller entered in, entered another.

"Mamma!" Jamie yelled a little too excitedly because he was relieved to be done having a conversation with "Chris Keller" or whoever he really was. As much as the conversation was educational, ever since Nanny Carrie, Jamie had been a little more cautious about who he opened up to.

His mamma was once again carrying a box. This time it was full of snacks for the studio so that they wouldn't have to leave to pick them up the next time Peyton was craving them. "Heeeey Baby!" she replied. "Peyton, can you help me put this down? … Peyton? … Hello, Peyton? … PEYTON?!"

"Haley, turn around and put the boxes in my car. I think I'd rather have more food around the house because Lucas- well, um… just please?" Said a pregnant and stunned Peyton staring at the familiar man in the room.

"What? Peyton, Lucas said he just bought enough food to feed a small nation for you yesterday."

"Haley-"

"What?"

Jamie was confused by the sudden tension. "What, Aunt Peyton?"

Rolling his eyes at the situation, Chris finally piped up, "Hey, guys. Did you miss me?"

At the word "did" there was a sudden crash of groceries to the floor. Everyone looked to see Haley's face that was in complete shock. Mia heard it too, wondering if Jamie wasn't so angelic after all and she would be responsible for something breaking, and came into the room with the others.

"I was afraid this might happen." Said Mia. "Haley, I'm sorry. I forgot what you had said before, I-"

"No, it's okay. Chris and I used to be close when all I had was him to talk to. Chris, I respect you, but I can't stay if you're here. I'll talk to you later under better circumstances. Jamie, come on, I'll take you home." Haley would not talk about everything here in front of her friends, her son and in the state of complete shock. She did still want to talk about his life, however. She was not completely jealous of him the way she was when he had first offered for her to join him on tour and she rejected, but that was not to say she didn't still stay updated on his success. She couldn't help but wonder where she would be if she had chosen to stay with music instead of staying with Nathan, but one thing is for sure, she wouldn't have Jamie and she wouldn't have Nathan, the loves of her life and all that she needed.

On the car ride home, Jamie sat in the back seat while a frustrated Haley drove and fiddled with the radio stations. Once she finally found a song she liked, she settled on the station. Jamie was busy wondering about this new Chris person and why he got his mamma to act the way she did. He was taken out of his thoughts when "… and from Tree Hill, our very own Chris Keller and his new song 'Tore the Line' playing now on 81.9, The Ro-ock Station of today!" could be heard from the radio.

Sighing agitatedly while stopped at a red light, Haley intentionally tapped her head on the steering wheel before changing the channel. She was dreading the conversation she would have to have with Nathan about, once again, Chris Keller. She was hoping that they had grown strong enough to not have to worry about fighting over it, but she was still worried. She knew he would be stressed about the situation.

"Mamma, who is 'Chris Keller'?" asked Jamie.

"Chris Keller is the stranger you met today, sweetie. You don't talk to him unless Daddy or I tell you it's okay, okay?"

Confused, he still agreed to what his mamma told him. "Okay." He said.


	2. Nathan's Causes of High Blood Pressure

Disclaimer: I do not own Lucky Charms or the slogan. They belong to General Mills.

* * *

**Author note:** I hope you like Naley. There will also be Chris in this chapter, I promise.

* * *

**-2-**

While driving into the garage, Haley read the clock as 8:30 PM. Glad that for once she would be home early and Nathan was home that day, she anticipated going inside, but hoped that Nathan wouldn't be too tired out from his practice and drive home earlier in the day. Jamie had already gotten out of the car and was walking into the house already. Haley quickly followed and was expecting a warm greeting from her husband, but the first glance she got of him was him sleeping on the couch with his NBA Live game paused on the screen. Haley loved waking up to see him sleeping every morning, but since he was often gone in Charleston, she rarely got to see him sleep any more. She smiled at her husband sleeping innocently on the couch while her son grabbed a cookie from the counter.

"Hey, it's late. You shouldn't be eating those so close to your bedtime!" Haley whispered to her son, but quickly gave in because he was too cute when he pouted, especially with chocolate all over his face (even if she knew she'd have to clean it up later). Not to mention, he looked strikingly similar to her when he did it. "Okay, just don't let Daddy know I let you have one."

"Okay, Mamma." He was now staring at his father who was completely oblivious to both Jamie and his wife being home and in the kitchen. "Can I jump on him, Mamma?" Jamie asked with an excited smile.

"Um, not tonight, baby. You should head upstairs while I talk to him, okay? Maybe you could practice guitar in your room?"

"Okay, Mamma." Jamie agreed to his mother, but wasn't completely in the mood to be practicing guitar. He'd rather find a way to play basketball with the laundry that was left in the hall outside of his room.

As Jamie headed upstairs, Haley quietly walked over to her peacefully sleeping husband and sat on the edge of the couch. The sudden movement of the couch was enough to make Nathan stir, but Haley knew him too well not to be surprised that he wasn't completely awake yet. She bent over to whisper in his ear to wake up like she often did, but on the way down she was pulled down even faster by Nathan's arms.

Nathan never opened his eyes, but mumbled happily to his wife, "Hey baby, I was missing you." While his voice was still raspy and lazy from his sleep moments before.

Smiling from their current, and much exercised position of her in his arms with her head lying on his chest, she responded with giving him a quick kiss on his chin and saying "Mmm, you too. I've been thinking of you all day."

"Mhmm, I was trying to stay up to see you when you came home, but c'mon, I can never make it past 9:30 and you only ever come home around 10:30. How late is it anyway?"

"Baby, it's only 8:35. Was practice real tough today?"

A little upset with himself that he couldn't find enough energy to stay awake for his wife that for once came home early, but happy that she was changing the subject replied, "Mhmm, but not as tough as not seeing you and-" he stopped talking and opened his eyes to find half of a giggling Haley that wasn't surrounded by him to have just fallen off of the couch. "Oh yea, I didn't realize we were on the couch. I could move over if-"

"No, babe. That's okay. I have some things to do tomorrow morning and I think I'll need a bed to get a good rest and I don't want to fall asleep here by accident. You going to come with me?" Asked Haley, now yawning as she stood up.

"Mmm, I thought I was good enough to sleep on for a good night's rest."

She rolled her eyes at her husband playfully and then offered, "Would you like me to carry you with me, sir?"

Smiling, Nathan pulled her down on the couch again while sitting up as he held her in his arms. "I think I can handle that job."

He picked her up with much giggling from Haley and carried her up to their bedroom only to find a chocolate covered Jamie playing with dirty laundry in the hallway. He had rolled up some of the clothes into balls and was throwing them in the basket like he was playing basketball. When Haley turned her head around to see him, she noticed him playing with a clothing piece of hers that she'd rather he never knew existed. "Uhh, Jimmie-Jam, I thought you were going to practice guitar!"

"Haley, you really thought it was a good idea to keep the laundry, especially _that_ laundry in the hallway?" Nathan whispered in his wife's ear.

"How am I supposed to know that he'd want to play with dirty laundry? When I was a kid I'd never go near my parents' dirty clothing." She whispered back.

"Well, I wouldn't want to go through your parents' laundry, dirty _or _clean, either, babe." He shuddered at the thought, especially knowing of James and Lydia's wild habits. "But he's my son and so I guess he's going to want to find a way play ball with anything."

Jamie, confused as to why his mother looked like she was just about to scold him, but was now whispering to his daddy, asked, "What are you talking about?"

"Jamie, why don't you get ready for bed and wash your face and I'll come say goodnight to you?" asked Nathan. His son reminded him of the articles of clothing his wife possessed and was more interested in seeing her in them that night than punishing his son for playing with them, especially since he had no idea what they were. He continued, "I just have to put your mother to bed first, then I'll come tuck you in. Does that sound good?"

"Okay, dad." Jamie replied and he quickly went off into his room.

"And why would he have chocolate all over his face?" asked Nathan knowingly, but amused to his wife who just smiled innocently in response.

Nathan carried Haley into their room and set her down on their bed, quite aware she didn't need to get ready to sleep on it just yet.

***

When Haley awoke the next morning, Nathan was gone and the alarm clock did not go off to wake her up. She looked over to the clock on her side of the bed and read 10:48. _Shit!_ she thought. She had many things to do that day and Nathan, whom she told that she needed to wake up early so that she could to errands, had the nerve not to wake her up when he woke up later than she was planning on. She no longer had a job to go to because she was fired from her teaching position at Tree Hill High, but she still needed to wake up early enough to accomplish everything she planned on that day. She quickly searched the room for her purse and found her cell phone, but before she had a chance to dial Nathan's number, the phone rang and it was Nathan's picture that showed up on the screen.

"Nathan! Where are you? Why didn't you wake me?" Haley said unpleasantly.

"Hi, Mamma. It's me, Jamie. Daddy told me not to wake you when we left this morning. We're going grocery shopping!" Jamie wasn't really comfortable talking to his angry mother, but knew that he couldn't get out of talking to her now.

"Hey, babe. Could you maybe give the phone to your father for a sec?" Asked Haley, who was now calmer. Jamie gladly gave it to his father.

"Hey, Haley. I thought you'd need the extra sleep and I found your list of things to do so I thought I'd let you sleep in. Is that okay?" Said Nathan pleasantly.

"Oh, um… yea. Thanks, babe!" Haley now exposed her wide and beautiful smile to the room. She loved having her husband around to spoil her. "Are you sure that's okay? I thought maybe you'd be waking up to work out this morning-"

"You really think I need to work out after _every_thing that went on yesterday?" he said, also with a smile from the memory of the day, but mostly the night before. "Listen though, I have to go because I see Lucas shopping in the produce section, probably for Peyton again, and I should talk to him seeing as it's been awhile."

Both Nathan and Haley laughed at the Peyton comment. "Okay, I'll see you when you're finished." Said Haley. They both exchanged an "I love you" and then Nathan and Jamie went off to speak to Lucas.

Haley wondered what she was going to do with herself for the day. She could go see Peyton, but she knew that she would be at the studio and after seeing Chris- "_Chris!" _she thought. How could she be so stupid but to let her husband, who she forgot to tell of Chris' return last night, and her son, who probably had had enough of Chris's bad influence already, be outside of the house when there was another occurrence of Chris Keller running around Tree Hill freely messing with people's business? Haley was going to have to tell Nathan somehow, but it would have to be when he came home. For now, she was just going to have to pray Nathan didn't have a run-in with Chris.

In the produce section of the grocery store, you could find two brothers and a very bored Jamie talking about "baby stuff".

"Dad, could I go pick out some cereal?" asked Jamie, looking up at his dad and Uncle Lucas.

Nathan, being protective, was a little unsure about letting his six-year-old be alone in a grocery store. "We'll get there when I'm done talking to Lucas, son."

"Aww, but Daddy! I'm bored." Replied Jamie.

"Yea 'Daddy' why not let him go? He could even bring me back some Lucky Charms!" said Lucas.

"Lucky Charms man? That stuff is all sugar… and it's kid's food!" said Nathan.

"Whatever, man. It still has some nutrition I think. Jamie you go right ahead and bring me back some _kid_ food. Get yourself some while you're at it!"

"Okay, fine, Jamie, but come right back." Nathan said with an unsure smile.

"Awesome! Don't worry dad, I'll get you some Lucky Charms too!" Jamie ran off and Nathan smiled both at his son and the fact that he also was a fan of the "sugary kid food" he'd be bringing back. After all, didn't most twenty-three year olds, and people period, still enjoy a nice, unhealthy and unbalanced breakfast?

Jamie knew exactly where to find the cereal aisle and where to find the Lucky Charms. When he got to the aisle, he could see a certain someone was looking right at the Lucky Charms trying to decide whether to buy the regular sized box or the jumbo one. Jamie remembered what his mamma had told him about speaking to this person, but he also knew that he needed to get to those Lucky Charms. He couldn't have convinced his daddy that he could get them by himself just to fail to bring them back. He took a little too much time deciding what to do, however, because Chris had just looked up to see the little Lucas looking at him.

"Well, well, if it isn't the adorable son of Haley James!" Chris said with a big smile on his face, and then continued in baby talk, "I just want to grab those cheeks and-"

"My mamma says I'm not aloud to talk to you!" Jamie quickly interrupted out of fear from what the strange man would do to him if he didn't change the subject.

"What? I can't see why not. I mean, _look_ at me. I am a handsome fellow, like yourself, with talent!"

"Did you ever shoot anybody? My grandpa Dan shot my uncle and my momma and daddy didn't want him to talk to me!"

"No, no. Ain't nothing but love coming from Chris Kell-"

"What about go to jail? Did you ever do that? My grandpa Dan went to jail for four years!"

"Um, yes, actually, but around here I'm pretty sure going to jail is something people do regularly."

"Not my mamma or my dad. They wouldn't do anything to get into jail!"

"Are you sure about that? I remember hearing Haley, Brooke and Peyton were in jail right around the time Nathan had me jumping off a boat and swimming to shore in a lake. And, dude, apparently Nathan and Lucas were in jail after being caught drunk driving. _That_ I learned from Brooke while she was drunk."

Jamie stood there, stunned and soaking in all of the information about the people in his life and wanting more information. "What about my Uncle Skills? … or my Uncle Mouth? Uncle Fergie?"

"Well, your Uncle Mouth I remember being in a jail in this small town in Texas called Honeygrove that your folks made me drive to to pick him up, but Skills and Fergie? I don't know." He looked at Jamie and then realized all that he was telling the six year old. Remembering how Nathan often threatened him in the past, he quickly changed the subject to avoid more to be guilty of. "What are you doing in a grocery store by yourself anyways? Do your parents ever watch you or did you just sneak off because you wanted to see Chris Keller again? _Yes,_ I know Chris Keller is a very fascinating human being. That must be it, right? I don't know if it's a good idea considering your age and the fact that it's mostly only hot chicks that follow me around...." He said with a cocky smile, but once again stopped talking because he was afraid of giving Jamie too much information he didn't understand.

"My dad told me to get us some Lucky Charms. My Uncle Lucas too!"

"Oh, well in that case," Chris said, now in fear of meeting Nathan _and_ Lucas at the same time, "why don't I get that for you." He grabbed the box and quickly gave it to him. "There you go! … 'they're magically delicious!' … uh, hey, little man listen, I gotta go, but I'll see you around. Try not to tell your folks you saw me okay? Okay… bye."

"Where are you going?" Asked Jamie, who never got an answer because Chris had already abandoned his grocery basket and was quickly making his way outside of the store. "That guy's weird." Jamie thought out loud. His dad must have been expecting him back already, so Jamie quickly grabbed another box of Lucky Charms to add to the other he was already carrying and headed back to his daddy and his uncle.

Jamie sat in between bags of groceries in the backseat of the SUV while his father drove them home. His Uncle Lucas had left a lot earlier than the two of them and had his own car to drive home in, so Jamie was left alone with his daddy with a car full of groceries and the new information about his parents in his head. "Daddy, is it cold in jail?" he asked his father.

"What? Well, I suppose it would be, why?" Asked Nathan, very confused by his son's random question.

"I'm just wondering. What do you sleep on?"

"Jamie, you'd sleep on beds. Uncomfortable ones. Where is this coming from?"

"Did you have to pee in front of Uncle Lucas? Because I heard that there is no bathroom, only a toilet and-"

"Jamie! What are you talking about? Where did you get this information from? Wait, ugh!" Nathan was now annoyed at the jackass who just cut him off by turning into his lane without signaling and was now speeding, and also at the fact that he assumed his son in some form knew that he had been in jail. "Jamie, cover your ears." As they pulled up to a red light, an agitated Nathan stopped beside the car that cut him off and Nathan looked over to see someone familiar. _"No"_ he thought. _"It can't be…"_ He rolled down his window and yelled at him to roll his down too.

When the man in the car saw Nathan gesturing and yelling at him to roll down his windows, he reluctantly did as he was told and looked at Nathan in fear.

"Chris? Is that you?" Asked Nathan, squinting his eyes to be fully confident that it was indeed Chris he was planning on cussing out.

Relieved that he did not appear angry, Chris replied, "Nathan! Dude, it's good to see you! Listen man, no hard feelings about my driv-"

"Y'know what man?" Nathan's tone was now angrier than it was before. "You're lucky I have Jamie in the back seat, because if I didn't, I'd have gotten out and started beating your ass for cutting me off and for just _being _in town _period_!"

"Hey, relax man, just chill… remember I am from here and my family is here… but uh, I was just in a rush to be getting somewhere so I guess that's why my driving was a little-"

"In a rush, huh? Yeah, I bet you were running from someone else you've pissed off lately. I-" Nathan stopped because there were now numerous honks coming from behind them and he realized the light had already turned green. "… you know what? This isn't finished-" Just then Chris drove away so fast that Nathan couldn't finish his sentence. After remembering Jamie was in the backseat, he turned around and asked, "How much did you hear of that?"

"Um, all of it." Replied Jamie, who was once again confused, but not intimidated by seeing his daddy like this. He had seen him much worse after his accident and he knew how to handle his daddy when he was angry in this way.

"Don't tell your mother." Said Nathan, frustrated as ever as he started to drive again. He soon took a right to avoid running into Chris again, even if it meant taking the long way home.

Taking the long way home did have its advantages, however. Mostly because it gave him more time to avoid going home and having the conversations that he knew were going to happen. He did not want to tell his wife about seeing Chris, especially since he knew that telling her would also mean an explanation of _how _and _what _happened. However, he had learned from his past mistakes that, in their relationship, nothing got past Haley. She had always been the smarter between the two and keeping secrets from her always had a way of coming back to bite him in the ass. Why did Chris Keller have to keep coming back into their lives? It was not fair.


	3. I Must Have Fallen and Hit My Head

Author Note: Hey ya'll! First of all, thanks to those who have read so far and those who have subscribed! I really appreciate it. Second, I changed the title from Jamie's Keller Instinct to Keller's Little Cahoot (If you perfer the last title, let me now. I might change it back) because I didn't want the story to be strongly about Jamie. Both titles suggest Jamie I think, but this one does less. So far it has been strongly about Jamie, and that's just because imagining Jamie's reaction to Chris Keller is amusing. However, I'm really not a fan of when Jamie has big storylines on the show. He's adorable and the storylines can be cute, but I'd much rather watch a hot Naley scene or Haley's own storyline. That's not to say there won't be lots of Jamie because, fortunately or unfortunately, there will be. I've kind of got an idea from where the story is going, but I don't think the story has really started picking up yet. This next chapter is the shortest so far (which isn't saying a lot seeing as it's only the third) and I don't know if it's the best. I think it's alright, though! Anyways, beforeDocument Manager (Upload) I ramble on (which I tend to do a lot), I just want to say feel free to reveiw! I've read it a few times, but I'm going to reread this chapter soon just to make sure it's grammatically okay. I thought I'd post it incase anyone was waiting on this chapter (plus I'm feeling lazy). Thanks again!

PS- When you read "neighbourhood", yes, I intentionally spelt it that way. It's Canadian spelling.

* * *

**-3-**

When Nathan and Jamie first walked into their home with bags full of groceries in their hands, the first thing Nathan noticed was the distinct smell of cleaning supplies. Haley was nowhere to be seen and neither was a speck of dirt or dust. While most people would enjoy coming home to a recently cleaned and fresh smelling house, Nathan found it troubling. He knew that with a stressed Haley also came a clean house. _"Great"_ he thought. Not only would he have to tell Haley of Chris' return, but he'd also have to do it when she was stressed about something. Jamie clearly never noticed a difference in the house's cleanliness, however, because he walked into the kitchen while tracking mud with his sneakers.

"Uh, Jamie, why don't you go play outside? And try to stay away from the mud this time." Nathan asked his son, who insisted on petting the cat that was sitting in Haley's recently watered flowers on the way into their house.

Jamie was happy to not have to help bring groceries in. "Okay!" said Jamie who quickly headed outside and into the front yard with hopes of seeing the cat again.

Nathan was glad to have currently gotten rid of the mud issue, but the real issue of talking to Haley about Chris Keller's return was yet to come. That was, if he could find her.

Once Nathan had brought all of the groceries into the house and put them in their appropriate locations, Nathan ran around the house trying to find Haley. He checked the basement, laundry room, main floor, upstairs and every other room he could think of. The last room Nathan checked was their bedroom and Haley was still nowhere to be seen. Nathan had given up hope until he heard some scraping sounds coming from outside. He could not see anyone on their balcony through the window, but he decided he'd check outside anyways.

"Haley?" He called from the doorway onto their balcony.

"Nathan? Oh, um, I'm right here!" Haley called back to him, still nowhere to be seen.

Nathan quickly walked onto the balcony and followed the direction of Haley's voice. When he finally spotted her, she was just below the balcony's right side on the slanted roof of the house. Haley may have cleaned the house to be fit by military standards, but she sure did not keep herself as clean in the process. She was covered in dirt and was wearing old jeans and one of Nathan's old t-shirts while cleaning out the rain-gutter and emptying its contents into a bucket.

"Haley! What are you doing out there?! Seriously!"

"Oh, I was just cleaning the house and it was on my list of things to do. It was pretty far down the list. Actually, it never should have been there in the first place seeing as you promised me that you'd clean the gutter a month ago. Oh, but, nope, you never did that…" Haley smiled at her husband, which would have looked much hotter to Nathan with her current outfit if she hadn't just been nagging him. Did he not just pleasantly surprise her that morning by doing her errands? Surely he didn't deserve to be nagged. He thought she'd have at least been relaxing, writing music, at the studio or with one of her friends, but somehow she still managed to find other obscure errands to do.

"And I still plan to keep that promise to you Haley, just as soon as the roofing company is back up and running so that I can call them to hire us a _professional_." Nathan sure as hell was not going to be climbing up on their roof like his wife and even if he would, he wouldn't have enough time to do so anyways. "Would you please just come down from there, baby? I don't want to see you fall and break another bone. Plus Jamie might see you and get ideas. He's been getting a lot of those lately. I really need to talk to you when you get down."

"Fall! What are you trying to-" Although Haley didn't appreciate Nathan doubting her balance and coordination, she had to admit that he was right in doing so. She loved the protective side of Nathan. It made her feel safe and could also be so persuasive, especially when she didn't really want or need to be doing what she was doing in the first place. She continued, "…Yeah, okay. You know, I could really use a warm bath right now. This outdoor cleaning isn't really working out for me." Haley looked around her, now eying the ladder on the side of the house that she would have to climb down in order to get onto their lower balcony. Then she eyed the bucket. "Could you grab this for me, Nathan? I don't know what to do with it." Haley said as she picked up the bucket and started to hand it to him, but she stumbled a little on her way to stand up only to drop the bucket and have all of its contents fall out and slowly move to the gutter, once again. "Oh… well, I guess that takes care of that! Never mind." Haley said as she watched the bucket roll off of the roof and onto their lower balcony.

"Haley!" Nathan had now seen enough of roof-Haley. "You really need to get down from there! C'mon, what if that was you falling off the roof?" he said, worried.

"Oh Nathan, I love you. You are definitely right too. This should be left to the professionals." Haley said while giving him one of the most genuine of concerned smiles before she started to go down the ladder.

After seeing Haley's recent stumble, each step Haley took down the ladder put another bad memory into Nathan's head. From guns pointed to her, to being run over by a car, to almost driving off of a bridge, to being chased by a psycho bitch, to high school sluts Haley got into fights with, to the pains of pregnancy and even to Haley's smaller and daily stories of stubbing her toe or running into things, after all she had been through, Nathan had more than enough reasons to worry about his very uncoordinated wife getting into an accident. He knew that she would think he was overreacting if she knew, but he didn't care because he "needed [her] on this planet" and Jamie did even more. Thankfully for the entire Scott household, Haley made it down safely.

"What?" She yelled at her husband from the second story when she noticed he was watching her very uneasily.

"It's just that you've been through so much. Haley, what is it that's bothering you? The house looks cleaner than humanly possible and I know you, Haley, something's up. If I'd have known that earlier, I never would have left you alone this morning." He yelled back.

Jamie, who had taken notice to the sound of his parents' shouting from the front yard, had come around the house only to see his parents communicating from different levels of the house.

"Mamma! What are you doing? Can I come up?" Jamie, who was one story below his mother and two below his father, yelled up at Haley.

Both Nathan and Haley looked down to their son who looked smaller than usual from the distance.

"No, baby. It's dangerous up here. I was just doing some cleaning." Haley shouted.

At the word "cleaning", Jamie quickly became disinterested.

Haley then brought her attention back to her husband. "Nathan, we'll talk inside, okay? I think we've probably attracted some attention in the neighbourhood with our shouting."

"Yes, that's a good idea." Yelled Nathan who now looked from his wife to his son who looked like he had more mud fastened on to him since the last time he saw him. "Jamie, come inside and take a bath, but you better not touch anything on your way to the bathroom!"

"Okay, daddy." Jamie said with the most force possible for his size so that he could be heard from so far away.

The Scotts then entered their home all in different doors, on different floors and in different mindsets.

Haley first went downstairs to find Jamie who was at the back door taking off his shoes. She shook her head and then walked over to her son who was equally as dirty as her. "And do I get my kiss today?"

"Ew, Mamma, you're all dirty!" Replied Jamie.

"Well so are you! C'mere…" Haley grabbed his head and started giving Jamie random kisses all over it.

"Well, I'd join in, but from the looks of you two, I think I might also need to take a bath after touching you." Said Nathan who had been watching his wife and son for a few seconds before speaking.

"Oh, honey, you know you're definitely going to need a bath, anyways!" Said Haley right before she started giving Nathan kisses all around and on his mouth and then embraced him in a tight hug. His protectiveness a few minutes before was so sexy to Haley and she had been waiting just to be able to touch him that day. Jamie quickly joined in by making it become one little, messy and familiar group hug.

Once they let go of each other, Haley looked down at her son and then back to Nathan, still smiling from their recent positions. "Nathan, I'm going to set up a bath for Jamie and then take a shower. We can talk after okay? Will you make sure Jamie's okay?" Haley was still planning on taking a bath that day, but she did not feel like doing it until evening when Jamie was and Andre's. More importantly, Nathan would be home to take that bath with her since she already told him he would need one too.

"Okay, I'll see you in awhile then." Replied Nathan, quickly followed by giving Haley a quick forehead kiss before she and his son ran off.

Nathan was not that dirty compared to his wife and son, but he could use a new pair of clothes and his hands needed to be washed, preferably in the bathroom Haley was showering in.

The next hour went by quickly. When Nathan wasn't checking up on Jamie in the main bathroom, he was checking up on his wife in their bedroom bathroom. Once Jamie's water got cold, Jamie left and got dressed, while Nathan went downstairs to watch TV. A few minutes later, Haley came back downstairs with her hair in a wet bun and sat next to her husband on the couch.

"Where's Jamie?" She asked.

"He's still upstairs, probably getting dressed. The boy loves playing in that bath. He could do it for hours if the water didn't get cold."

Haley smiled, but soon after her thoughts were not on her son. "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well, I saw someone today…" Nathan started.

Haley's heart dropped. _"Shit" _she thought, _"did Nathan see Chris? Did Jamie see Chris?_"

"Okay…" She said. It was all Haley could think of. She didn't want to start the Chris conversation just yet if she was wrong.

"… and, well… I thought I should tell you I saw him, Haley. I just want you to know that I didn't touch him or anything…"

"…Chris?" Asked Haley, no longer caring if she was wrong. She'd have to let him know she saw him sooner of later.

"Yeah! I saw him when Jamie and I were driving home. The punk cut me off."

"Oh." Said Haley, now thinking of the verbal things that could have happened in place of the physical ones that didn't. "You didn't say anything to him in front of Jamie, did you?"

"… Well, I might have called him an ass… well… okay yeah, actually… I said a lot." Said Nathan, a little unsurely.

Haley couldn't help but laugh a little. "Oh… boy. Nathan, you have _got_ to start controlling yourself. I mean, _especially_ around Jamie…"

"I know that. It's just that seeing him again… it brought back some memories. And now that we're talking about your music career again it just put me into a different place."

"Nathan, we're not that couple anymore."

"I know, and I'm so glad." Said Nathan truthfully. "What was it that was bothering you today, Haley? I leave the house for three hours and I come back to find you on the roof."

"Oh, um, well… you weren't the first to see Chris." Replied Haley, but that was not her entire answer.

"Wait, _you_ saw Chris before I did? Why didn't you say something?"

"I was going to, I promise. It's just that, by the time I got home last night, you were so tired and then you got me a little distracted." She smiled. "I was going to tell you today, but you left before I had the chance. Somehow you ran into him. You must have the worst timing."

"It's a small town, Haley." Nathan then felt Haley's head fall on his shoulder.

"That's not all of it, though." She said, continuing on her reasons for the excessive cleaning.

"What?" Asked Nathan, now confused, but listening intently.

"It's just that… Chris is still playing his music. He's still successful and he always seems so _happy_ in his interviews. I'm just… jealous, I think. It's a different jealously than I sometimes feel towards Mia, too. Chris started when I did, and now when I see him he's on TV and sitting next to Mariah Carrey. I just miss music, that's all."

Nathan knew of his wife's dreams. He knew she was perfectly happy just being a mother, wife and teacher, but since teaching was no longer one of her priorities, her thoughts went back to her other passion for music. "You don't need to feel like that, Haley. I know you're going to release a great record and soon Haley, I can feel it. They're going to love you all over again…"

"Thank you, that means a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to us, Haley James Scott." He said and soon after gave her a short, but sweet kiss.

Once the moment was over, Haley knew she had one more thing to tell him. "I'm going to see Chris again, tonight." Nathan furrowed his brow, but showed no anger when she looked up at him and so she continued, "He's doing a song with Mia and seeing as I'm now her full-time producer, I need to be there."

"Okay." Said Nathan with a gentle reassuring smile. He was completely fine with the situation. He was not, however, completely fine with Chris and if he had to deal with working with him, he knew he would have far less class than his wife did.

Nathan and Haley really were not the same couple they were in the past. Both were relieved after their conversation now that the useless pressure they had felt earlier had been taken off of their consciousness. It was a good thing they had grown so strong because Chris Keller had a way of getting into people's business, especially theirs. Both found Chris to be annoying, but they also knew of what he had helped them accomplish in the past. Even if it was in some twisted way.

* * *

**Author Note:** Sorry if this chapter was slow. I know I kind of wrapped it up in the end of the chapter, but the next one gets back into the story. There is lots of Chris in the next chapter, too. So if you were disappointed that there were only mentions of him in this chapter, the next is mostly with him, I promise. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	4. Lei'd

**Author's Note:** My chapters seem to be getting shorter?

Sorry this update didn't come sooner. I have been writing finals and things have been busy, but now I'm off of school so... yay!

First, I'd really love to thank ReeseHolden and BrilliantDance for your reviews. Those really made my day. Second, I'd also love to thank the people who have been subscribing/favouring. It really means a lot and gives me a reason to stay motivated. Please keep the reveiws coming!

So far the story has been pretty fluffy and I hope you're all down for that, which, seeing as this is like, the fourth chapter, that probably would mean that you would be! I'm thinking that it's really not going to last though, so I hope you're down for that too. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

**- 4 -**

"Peyton, I'm finally here! The traffic was crazy because of the construction going on around town and so I'm sorry I took so long, but-" Haley had just hurriedly walked into the studio to find a little girl sitting in her producer's chair. She also was actually late because her bath took a little longer than she expected, although, the traffic had slowed her down a lot. "Oh, hi." She smiled at the girl, but was completely unaware of whom she was and Peyton, Mia or Chris were not around to tell her.

"Hi! What's your name?" said the red haired and pretty girl who looked around the age of four.

"I'm Haley, and what's your name?"

Before the little girl had time to answer, Chris walked in and saw the two females conversing. He interrupted, "Ohh Haley, wonderful to see you finally could make it! This is my niece, Leila. She came along with me today." Chris said, rather gentleman-like.

"Oh! You have a niece? Well, aren't you just precious!" Haley said, turning her attention to Leila and not noticing Chris' peculiar behavior. The little girl just smiled brightly at the attention she was getting.

"Peyton insisted on getting something called a falafel and some Cracker Jacks, so Mia offered to drive her to get them. It's just me and Leila around here right now." Chris informed and then looked at Leila. "We're working on a song! Isn't that right, Leila?" Chris said, rather excitedly.

"Keller is Stellar!" exclaimed the girl, reciting the lyrics.

"Tonight he's Leila's storyteller!" Chris said, enjoying the song that was mostly about him, created also mostly by him.

Haley looked between the two. _"Great," _she thought. _"He's probably gotten her mimicking him to be the next Chris Keller." _

"… That's… 'stellar', you guys. Chris, any idea when they'll be back?" asked Haley.

"Well, they just left a few minutes ago, so I'm guessing in at least a half hour. What do Haley and Leila want to do with Chris Keller until then?"

"I want beef jerky!" Said Leila.

"Beef Jerky!?" Chris questioned, both at the randomness and because he found eating meat to be sickening. "Pooh Bear, we don't have beef jerky."

Haley then said, "Actually, I know Peyton's got some in her office. I could bring some if-"

"That would be great, Haley! Leila, thank this wonderful woman!" Said Chris.

The little girl then gave Haley a loose, but friendly hug. "Thanks, Lady."

"Mhmm… I'll be back in a few, you guys…" Haley said and then quickly left through the studio doors to get to Peyton's office. There was definitely something different with the Chris Keller she had just seen. She figured it was something about that little girl that made him act so polite and kind. She saw their relationship as one similar to Nathan and Jamie's.

When she returned with the not-so-hard-to-find beef jerky in her hand, this time Haley found Chris to be sitting in her producer's chair, facing another direction, while Leila sat in another corner on the floor examining the basketball Haley had planned to give to Nathan, but thought that she had lost.

"'And after all of these years, you still make me feel brave.'" Chris turned around in the chair to face Haley while he was holding the pink, heart-shaped card recently unattached to the basketball in his hand. He smirked and then continued reading the card. "'And so, when I found this old ball in Lucas' office, I knew you should have it as another way to remember all those years ago. Happy Annivers-'"

"Chris!" Said Haley, angry and embarrassed while quickly snatching the card from him and putting it in her jean pocket. "That is private! You'd think after all these years, you'd have grown some respect!" He was clearly back to being the Chris Keller she remembered now that Leila was distracted.

"Oh, sorry. Chris Keller just appreciates some good words, especially your good words, Haley James." He said, not really sorry. "… but, if it was so private, then why was it stuck to the side of this table?"

"The card was stuck to that basketball she's playing with… did you take it off? And where did you find that basketball?" asked Haley, confused as to how they were able to find the card and basketball, but she wasn't.

"Well, I found the card on the side of this table… like I said. The basketball? I'd ask your son about that. He seemed to enjoy playing with it when I last saw him in here."

"What? Oh, well…" Haley said as she walked over to Leila to give her the beef jerky in the package. Leila set it down as soon as she got it when Haley walked back to Chris. She was no longer interested in eating it.

"So, you and Nathan are really still together, huh?" Said Chris, smiling, but not making eye contact. "I think that's great, Haley. Really. How long-"

"Yeah, we are. We recently celebrated our seventh anniversary." Haley said, also smiling. "What about you? Don't you have someone?"

"Oh, you know… Chris Keller's always got loads of hot chicks around. They multiply, too." Chris said, now no longer looking away and his smile turned into a smirk.

"Oh… yea, I'll bet, Chris. How is your life now anyways?"

"It's great. Really, Chris Keller's all over. He's internationally known, you know, and he just recently finished a song with Bono… Hey! You should come to this charity thing I'm holding tomorrow! You and Nathan. My mom is going to be there and you know she'd love to see you again… and-"

"Oh, well… uh, sure. Nathan's home for the weekend." Said Haley, a little reluctantly because of their history, but giving in at the word "charity", even if she thought it would possibly have something to do with Chris' own benefit.

"Great! It's at 7:00 PM and you need to dress up. So, don't have Nathan show up in sweats." Said Chris, cheerily. "… Oh hey, do you think you could help me get Brooke to be my date? I keep seeing her on the cover of B. Davis Magazine and, damn, she is looking fine these days."

Haley thought she might gag. _"Was Chris really still stupid enough to think he'd have a chance with Brooke?"_ she thought. She knew Brooke way too well and knew she would not be up for it, especially considering the whole Brooke-Julian recent situation. "You know, I think Brooke has the flu right now. She's been home for a few days, according to Peyton." Haley lied.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll need to find someone else, then." Said Chris, disappointed. "… Well then, uh, you wanna hear something I've been working on?" He asked as he got up and grabbed his guitar.

"Sure, that'd be great." She agreed as Leila got up from her corner and quickly came over to watch Chris.

He started playing a few bars of his song on the guitar until the door opened to the studio.

"Oh, good. You're working on the song." Said Peyton who first saw Chris and then looked at Haley. "Haley! You're a little late..." She then looked at them both, remembering the way Haley reacted to his return the day before. "…So, uh, how are things going with the song?" She asked and then squatted down next to Leila to adjust her shirt.

"Oh, really well, you know. Where's Mia?" Asked Chris.

"She and Br-" Peyton started.

"Brookie!" Said Chris, who got up from his chair, put the guitar in the stand, and ignored Peyton's answer. "Long time no see!" He spread his arms out, expecting a hug.

"Ugh… fortunately." Said Brooke who then placed a bag of groceries on the floor to quickly dodge Chris' hug attempt and then waved a happy hello to Leila. "P. Sawyer, listen, I'm going to head out… you guys take care." Brooke looked around and noticed Haley. "Oh, Haley, hey! I thought you'd be staying in tonight since Na-"

"And Haley thought _you'd_ be staying in tonight." Said Chris.

"What?" Asked Brooke, confused and looking at Haley.

"Oh, um, you know what? Well…" Haley tried.

"No worries, Haley. Chris Keller knows that not even lies could keep Brooke Davis away from the Keller. You knew you had to come see the me, didn't you?" Said Chris to Brooke with a smirk.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I was trying to avoid it, actually… and who's this little one?" said Brooke, now looking down at the little girl in the room and quickly changing the subject.

"I'm Leila Taylor Keller!" said the girl.

"_Taylor!" _Haley thought, now distracted from the conversation around her by her thoughts. _"I should call my sister."_

Brooke smiled at the girl. "Well, aren't you just the cutest little thing! Anyways, like I said, I should go. I told Sam I'd be home before 9:00 and she seems to think that when I don't do exactly what I say, she doesn't have to either." She looked at the clock in the room and read 8:53. "See you guys!" She said and hurriedly started walking out of the door.

"Wait, Brooke!" Chris yelled.

Brooke turned around, a little annoyed that she had to deal with him. She just looked at his face expectantly as he walked closer to her.

"How would you like to join Chris Keller at this charity thing I'm holding tomorrow? You can be the Keller's date yourself!" He asked.

"Uh, you know what? I'm feeling a little… flu-ish. Bye!" She said, and quickly walked away following the route through Tric to get back outside to the parking lot.

"But-" She was gone. He turned around to see Haley resting her head on Peyton's shoulder, both watching him and laughing.

"'Now I know why they call it true love…'" Said Peyton in a mock tone, while still laughing.

Haley, however, quickly stopped laughing and she pulled her head off of Peyton's shoulder to glare at her. She said, "Oh my god! I can't believe you're still bringing it up that I said that! Come on, that was _years _ago!"

Peyton just laughed harder while Chris watched them suspiciously.

"I'm sorry, I just thought it was appropriate." Peyton said while soon wincing from the punch Haley gave her on her bicep. "Hey! No need to punch a pregnant woman…"

"What?" Asked Chris, narrowing his eyes in confusion and a little annoyed that they had just witnessed his attempt to get Brooke to be his date.

"Oh, this lame thing Haley-" Peyton started.

"Haley what?" Asked Mia, who had finally walked in the door with more groceries and who was oblivious to everything that was going on.

"Haley nothing." Said Haley.

"…okay." Said Mia. "Well, did I miss anything? I saw Brooke on the way in and she looked a little annoyed..."

"Can we just get to work, please?" asked Chris who then went into the recording booth with his guitar. Leila followed him in and soon after sat on the piano bench to press random keys.

"I think that's a good idea." Said Haley, truthfully for many reasons.

***

"Haley!" Said Nathan, who had just turned around after closing their refrigerator door to get some juice.

"I know, I know. I don't know what I was thinking." She replied.

"How could you think this would be a good idea? I don't even have a suit ready for that soon."

"I can easily get Lucas to give you one. Nathan, I said we'd go."

"I'm not going." He looked at his wife who gave him a pleading look. "Haley! I'm not going. _We're_ not going."

"What is the big deal, Nathan? The last time I saw you with Chris you were fine around him."

"That was different."

"How?"

"He was in no way a threat to us then."

"And what is different this time?"

"This time there's Jamie."

Haley sighed. He was so protective over them. She continued trying to convince him to come. "Nathan, he is in no way a threat. I mean, come on… he's Chris Keller! You know he's done us some good in our lives, too."

"I know."

"He may not be the same person anymore, either. You know, you've had some changes since senior year, too."

"Okay, Haley," He smiled because his wife was always trying to see the better sides of people. He loved that about her. "I guess we can go and I'll try to put up with him, but we're sitting as far away from him as possible."

"Good." Haley said, also hoping that his wishes would be the case. She gave Nathan a quick kiss before going upstairs to tuck Jamie in to bed for the second time; the first time already done by his father.


	5. A Lovely Little Get Together

**Author Note:** This update took longer than usual, but I've had company and so, even though the chapter is rather short(again, they're getting shorter), I still didn't want to be spending a lot of time writing when I could be seeing them, y'know? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hopefully I'll get the next one done soon. Enjoy!

Again, comments are appreciated. Thank again to ReeseHolden.

* * *

**-5-**

"Where are we going?" Jamie asked his parents as he sat in the backseat of their SUV.

"You're going to Uncle Lucas', remember?" said Nathan.

"Oh, okay… Then where are _you_ going?" He asked.

"Jamie, we're going to a charity thing. It's fancy and it's not for kids." Haley said.

"Basically what she's saying, Jamie, is that it will be boring." Replied Nathan, who, knowing the event, would have agreed with what he was saying had Chris Keller not been running it.

"Oh. What's the charity for?" Asked Jamie.

"Yeah, what is it for?" Nathan asked Haley as he drove. It was not his first time asking.

"… I'm not sure yet, babe." Replied Haley.

Nathan was a little annoyed with the whole situation. Haley was making them go to a charity event and she didn't even know what the cause was. Not to mention, the suit he was wearing was borrowed from his brother and it was a little tight in some uncomfortable areas. Lucas may have been around the same height as Nathan, but they definitely had some differences in muscle quantity.

Jamie simply accepted the answer and the car went back into silence until they reached his Uncle Lucas' house. They all got out of the car and walked inside the house without knocking. Haley was used to just walking into Lucas' house because she had done it ever since she could remember.

Lucas walked to the family in his living room and smiled. "Hey Hales… Nate." He nodded at them both and then looked down at Jamie, "J-Luke! My man, high five!" He held out his hand and they did their well-rehearsed handshake.

Haley smiled at her best friend and son. "Alright, little man, we're out of here. You be good, okay?" She said as she looked down at Jamie expectantly.

"Yes, mamma." He replied.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours then. Love you both!" Haley gave Lucas a quick side-cheek kiss and then bent down to kiss the top of Jamie's head.

Nathan smiled at Lucas and then rubbed the top of Jamie's head. "You can go ahead and eat that ice-cream, Jamie. I know your Uncle Lucas has got _lots_ of that around." Nathan said as he winked mockingly to his brother.

Haley laughed. "We'll see you guys later. Say hi to Peyton for me." She said to the both of them.

Everyone then exchanged another quick goodbye and Nathan and Haley walked back to their SUV.

The drive to where the charity event was being held was not an easy one. Haley had to keep calling the place to get directions while Nathan drove. Also, Nathan had to keep adjusting his jacket because it was tight around his arms and shoulders. Once they finally got there, the exterior of the building surprised them. It was an upscale restaurant that neither of them had yet been to. Once they got outside of their car and walked to the pathway to the entrance of the building, a woman Haley found familiar greeted them.

"Oh, Mrs. Keller! Good to see you!" Said Haley, giving Chris' mother a friendly hug. "This is my husband, Nathan."

"Yes, yes, I know very well who this handsome man is." Said the fifty-some-year-old woman sincerely with a smile as she patted Nathan on the back. "It's good to see you too, dear." She replied to Haley.

"Haley! So glad you could make it!" Said Chris as he walked up to the group with a random, but beautiful girl on his arm. He then looked at Nathan and said honestly, "Nathaaaan, man, nice suit!" not noticing the way it fit him. His mother then walked away and winked at Nathan and Haley as she did so.

Nathan didn't make much of an expression; he just raised his eyebrows in disbelief at Chris' greeting. "Yeah… hey, Chris." Said Nathan.

"Hey, indeed, dude. Listen, this is my date, Maxine." Said Chris.

"Nice to meet you." Said the dark haired woman in a surprisingly deep voice with a Russian accent. She held out her hand for them to shake.

"You too." Said Haley as she shook her hand.

Nathan didn't say anything, but only smiled when he shook her hand. He found the situation awkward.

"Okay, well, dinner is about to start. You can make your donations now if you'd like." Said Chris. "Oh and guess what!? I saved you two a spot right next to the Keller."

"Oh, good." Said Haley with a fake smile. Chris then walked away with Maxine.

"Why would I make a donation when I don't know what this thing is, Haley?" asked Nathan.

Haley looked around for answers and Nathan could see her eyes fixed on something as she squinted in disbelief at what she was reading. Nathan turned around to see what she was looking at and read a sign that said, "Welcome to the _Mother's Against Drunk Driving _(MADD)'s annual charity dinner event."

"Oh." Said Nathan, who was then silent for a moment. "Maybe he has changed since senior year… physically, I mean." He said, jokingly to Haley who just smiled at him in response.

"Well, I guess it's a good cause then, right?" asked Haley, who was surprised by the event title. She honestly expected it to be something centered around Chris and music or at least something with a more masculine title and theme.

"I guess so." Said Nathan, who held out his arm for Haley to latch onto.

They walked in to a back room of the building and, other than Chris and Chris' mother, Nathan and Haley recognized no one. Chris motioned for them to come sit where he was and got up to pull out Haley's chair for her as they got closer towards the table.

"Thanks, Chris." Said Haley who then looked at Nathan with a shocked and confused face. He just shrugged in response and sat down next to her.

"So," Chris started as he sat down, "It's been so long since we all last hung out. How have you been, Nate?"

Nathan clenched his jaw a little before speaking. "I've been well..."

"So it seems. You're looking a lot more muscular since I remember." Said Chris, making a mental note to try especially hard not to get in a fight with him.

"Yeah, the basketball and working out helps."

Chris nodded and the table went into an awkward silence. After awhile, Maxine started seductively playing with the collar and top button of Chris' shirt with her hand, only for him to awkwardly remove it soon after and then get up and walk over to the microphone.

"Sheesh." Said Maxine, shrugging.

"Yeah, really, Haley. What is his issue?" Nathan quietly asked his wife, thinking about his strange behavior and politeness.

"I'm wondering the same thing." She replied.

"Well, I don't trust it."

There was a sudden screeching noise for a few seconds coming from the microphone now in Chris' hand. "Oh, sorry." He said when it stopped. "Uhh… I'm Chris Keller… and welcome, everybody, to our _Mother's Against Drunk Driving_'s fifth annual charity event! I'm pleased to be the host this evening because I hold the cause dear to me." He paused to let people clap. Nathan and Haley both figured this was, indeed, Chris trying to look good by getting some positive attention in the community. "I'm going to remind everyone to make a donation if you haven't already and I really want to thank everyone for coming out; it means a lot. Now, before we get started, I'm going to hand the mic over to my mother, Donna Keller, so that she can say grace. Then food will be brought out. I hope you enjoy! Thanks again for coming out!"

Everyone then sat in silence while Mrs. Keller said a prayer about the food and keeping people safe from drinking and driving. When she was done, she walked to Nathan and Haley's table with Chris and took the empty seat next to Nathan and Maxine. There were five seats at the table, unlike most, which had six. Haley knew it was because Chris' father had died years ago and so she didn't have a date. The waiters soon brought out the food to the tables and everyone started to eat.

"So, Haley, are you still making music?" Asked Mrs. Keller once their table was fully settled in.

"Yes, I've been working on a few things, actually. It's been hard though, seeing as I've been so busy with teaching and with raising Jamie, my son."

"Your son! Well now, isn't that wonderful? You must have had him recently?" Asked Mrs. Keller.

"Actually, he's six now." Said Haley, not surprised by her shocked expression.

Mrs. Keller smiled at both Nathan and Haley. "So, you're having troubles with your music, hm?" She asked Haley and then looked at Chris. "Christopher, why don't you help her? It sure worked out well last time." She said, but she soon took it back knowing what it did to Nathan and Haley. She was a huge fan and supporter of Chris and Haley when they first went on tour together. So, when she asked Chris why Haley had gone back home and discovered it was to repair the problems Chris and the tour caused for her relationship with her husband, she was extremely angry with Chris and wanted to severely punish him.

"Well, I was actually wondering if you'd like to do some music with me, Haley. It'd be like old times' sake." Chris proposed.

Haley looked at Nathan and only saw a look of annoyance on his face. She figured the annoyance was mostly directed at Chris being close to him. She wasn't sure what she thought about the idea of Chris and her working together again. The first time they did, it obviously didn't work out so well, but the second time was not as bad. "Oh, um… I don't know. Maybe?" She replied, thinking it would be best to talk about it with Nathan in private before making a decision. She also wasn't sure that she really wanted to.

The dinner continued in the groups' conversations about how they've been during the last six years. The group didn't say much to each other because they didn't know what to say. Mrs. Keller was the one to mostly keep conversations going. Maxine spent the whole night silently listening, but not caring. She was also bitter that Chris didn't seem to want to have sex with her. Seducing Chris was the only reason why she agreed to come. She could have been somewhere else; somewhere that she thought was more important.

Once dinner was over, Nathan and Haley made a donation and Chris, with a very disinterested Maxine on his arm, came over to say goodbye.

"It was really nice that you could come tonight, you guys. It really means a lot to me." Chris said with a genuine soft smile.

"Oh, it was actually really nice." Said Haley.

"Yeah, man, thanks for inviting us." Said Nathan. He was actually surprised that he was bored most of it. He expected Chris to be an ass and start talking about his life, but the whole time he seemed more interested in both Nathan and Haley than anyone else at the table. Of course, he still managed to be annoying. "We'll see you around, then?" he asked.

"The Keller'll be around for awhile, Natey." He said before giving Nathan and Haley an awkward hug at the same time. With Chris giving the nickname "Natey", Nathan's annoyance had returned.

"Okay, Chris, we'll see you later." Said Haley as she and Nathan, who just nodded, walked outside.

"Well that was… weird." Said Nathan once they got inside their SUV.

"I know. It's like he's been possessed by some ultimate gentlemanism." She replied.

"What are we going to do about it?"

"I don't know what we would do about it. I don't know what it means, but, well, since when is being polite and generous a bad thing?" She asked unsurely.

"Since it's Chris Keller. I mean, it must mean something's up, right?"

"I think that for now, we should just see what happens. Maybe Chris will just be sweet while he's here and then leave without affecting anyone?"

"Maybe."

"Yeah. Maybe he's just had some change of heart?"

"What do you think this charity thing was for, anyways? Like, how random was that?"

"Well, it's a really good cause."

"It's Chris Keller."

"Yeah, but, like I said, maybe he's had a change of heart?"

"Are you ever going to stop trying to see the better sides of people?" He asked appreciatively with a smile.

"Yes." She replied with a more fake coy smile.

"What?" He asked laughing with question.

"I'm kidding." She said. "Let's just drive."

"What ever you say." Nathan replied, enjoying being with his wife. "Hey, do you think Lucas would want us to pick up some food on the way back?" he said as they started driving.

"Uh, probably. We should go to the corner store by his house. It's open late."

"Sure thing." He said.

"I'm going to miss you tomorrow." Said Haley, thinking about how he was always helping her and how he would be driving back to Charlotte and she would, once again, be alone to take care of Jamie and work by herself.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know, you too." He said joylessly. He hated leaving her and Jamie.


	6. Nachos and Slutty Mothers

**Author note:** Thanks for reading this far (or skipping, that's cool, too)!

Also, thank you for the comments (leona and War on Joypiter). They're really appreciated. Much love to all of you readers!

* * *

**-6-**

"_Your mother, she was always such a giving woman_

_Your mother, she always seemed like such a kind soul_

_I always thought she wasn't just destined for any man,_

_But your mother, she really turned out ugly like a troll_

_Your mother was sleeping with my brother_

_Oh, your mother, she is a slut like no other_

_Yeah, your mother, she was sleeping with my brother_

_Your mother_

_Your mother"_

"Well, that was… interesting." Said Haley, not knowing how else to respond when Chris was done singing the portion of the song and playing guitar for her.

"Yeah. That's all I have so far. I'm really needing more inspiration, like, there must be some kind of mystery behind this mother… why was she such a slut? Did her husband treat her wrong?" Chris pondered the possibilities while Haley wished she had someone else to help her with helping Chris. "Hey, where's the little guy?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Asked Haley, taken out of her own thoughts by the question.

"Your son. I thought he'd be coming with you?" He said, remembering how he had come with her to the studio the week before.

"Oh, Jamie. No, his nanny was able to take care of him tonight."

"And she's not other nights? What kind of nanny is that?"

"Nathan's mother."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

The two went into silence for a moment before Chris changed the subject.

"So, are you ever going to decide whether or not you want to do a song with me?" he asked.

"Well, if the song is going to turn out anything like the one you just sang-"

"Huh? I thought you said it was interesting. You better not be lying to the Keller, Hales."

"Well, I wasn't really lying, but that's just not my thing." She responded. "And don't call me Hales."

"Why?"

"Because I like singing something with a little more… meaning. Inspiration."

"No, I meant why can't I call you Hales?"

She raised her eyebrow at him, irritated. "You know, you should be glad that I even agreed to help with the music."

"Because of Mia."

"Maybe."

"I know you'd all rather not be around me. The Keller may be distant, but he's not dense," He responded, a little hurt. "but you know, I thought maybe you'd be a little different."

"I am giving this working together thing a try."

"Sure, but so is Peyton. Peyton is different though; we never got along before. You and I used to be friends." Said Chris, remembering the days of the tour and also the way he and Haley had clashed while working together in the past two days since the charity dinner.

"You've been an ass since then, Chris. Messing with people, turning up unexpectedly- Actually, you've always been an ass. You think people will just welcome you with open arms?" she asked, wondering why he was being so sensitive. Usually, his pride would have kept his self-arrogance and convinced him that he was always right. She really believed two days ago that maybe he had changed, but when it was just the two of them alone, his "assiness" would sneak back in.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I've done, okay? But don't act like this is isn't a choice for you."

"I'm not. Look, I'm really trying. I want to help you, but you've got to stop being so damn… _Chris Keller_."

"I know," He said, and paused for a moment, Haley listening intently. "But being Chris Keller has been good to me. It's gotten me places, right? I'm happy with what Chris Keller can do." Said Chris.

"What?" Asked Haley.

He looked back at her, studying her face. "I know I've got to stop being _the_ Chris Keller eventually." He said honestly.

She didn't know what to say or respond. They just stood there watching each other, trying to decide what to say next.

"I'm not singing a song with you." Declared Haley after awhile. "I'm not giving up on you, yet, though. I will help you with this… 'mother' song."

A small and grateful smile formed at the side of Chris' mouth. "Thanks, Hales." He said.

Haley may have noticed that he still called her "Hales", but she ignored it and just gave him back a small smile as well.

"Are you hungry?" He asked.

"Not really. I ate before I came." She responded honestly.

"Well, I really just want to get out of here. Are you down?"

"Uh, no."

"Aren't you like, twenty-three? Let's go to a bar."

"I have a son and responsibilities. Plus, this studio is attached to a bar…"

"Your son also has a nanny and I really just want to leave this building."

"You can go, but I'm going to go home to my son, if you don't mind." Said Haley, thinking about how she missed Jamie.

"… Whatever," Said Chris, remembering his two conversations with Jamie. "I understand. Jamie's a pretty sweet kid."

She narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed that some form of Chris Keller had talked to her son. "Yeah… thanks. I'm going to go." She said, grabbing her purse.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow night."

She nodded in acknowledgement and left him on his own.

***

Jamie sat on their living room couch, watching his feet as he gently kicked them around in the air. His mother was upstairs getting ready to take him to a late night movie. Going to the movies was something that he and his mother had recently starting sharing. His father was often gone and that left the two of them together to entertain themselves. He used to only go with his Nanny Deb to the theatre, but when he started going with his mother occasionally, he found it to be more special. Maybe it was the fact that she was usually too busy to take him or maybe it was just because he genuinely cared for his mother and the time they shared. Whatever reason, they both enjoyed it.

Minutes later, Haley came down the stairs in her classic, fitted t-shirt with a cute saying and comfortable jeans attire.

"I really want to see that new Johnny Depp movie. The one where he's in a mafia or something? What do you think, Jamie?"

"Okay!" He agreed. He wondered if maybe the reason why seeing movies with his mom was so special was because, unlike Deb, she didn't mind taking him to the violent ones. She said that, when she was his age, one of her favourite things to do was go see action movies with her parents.

"Okay!" She, too, said excitedly. "Just let me grab my keys and-" she was interrupted by the doorbell ringing. "Uh, just hold on a second, Jamie." She said as she walked to the front door to answer it.

When she opened the door, none other than Chris Keller was standing before her.

"_Of course," _She thought. _"because why would I finally get an opportunity to be with my son when Chris Keller is in town? And how the hell does he know where I live?" _

"Hey, Haley." He greeted with an unsure smile.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Chris Keller wants to drink tonight-"

She shook her head knowingly. "Chris, I already told you, I'm going to be with my son."

"No," he continued. "I'm trying to say that… Chris Keller wants to drink tonight… and so he shouldn't drink tonight."

She sighed. "Chris, what are you doing?"

"I'm not really sure, I just know that, whatever Chris Keller wants to do tonight, you are one of the only people who can stop him."

She looked at him, really considering her options. _"Why can't my good conscience just, _for once_, not be so strong?" _She questioned herself while looking into his pleading eyes. She wasn't sure if she approved of him talking to Jamie, but it seemed like he was really trying to make an effort to be better.

She sighed again. "Come inside." She said, moving out of the doorway so that he could walk by.

"Thanks, Hales."

She gave a fake cough at him using the name "Hales".

"Um, would you excuse me for a second?" She asked.

"Of course." He said and she ran upstairs.

He walked into their living room and sat right next to Jamie.

"Hey, little buddy!" He said.

"Hi." Said Jamie, figuring that since his mother let him in, it would be okay to acknowledge his existence without getting in trouble.

"How's it going?" he asked, dragging out the words happily.

"Fine." He said, not willing to elaborate or ask him back. Although it seemed okay to talk to Chris, that didn't mean that he wanted to. He was really looking forward to going to the movies with his mother, but since Chris Keller arrived, he was doubtful that it would happen. Jamie turned the TV on to avoid conversation. He also figured that there would be no harm in starting to watch something because he and his mother likely weren't going out anymore.

Haley was in her room with her cell phone pacing back and forth. It was a given that she would call Nathan; she just did not know what she'd tell him. He would probably think that she was crazy and that letting Chris into their house was taking it too far. Reluctantly, she pressed the number 1 to call him with speed dial and waited for him to pick up.

"Hey, baby." He said with a raspy voice followed by a yawn.

She smiled. It was 8:45. "Nathan, were you asleep?" she asked.

"Huh? No, it's early."

"You were, weren't you?" she asked again, knowingly.

"Maybe. There's not much to do in my room, Hales. Plus, practice is really wearing me out."

Her heart warmed by hearing him call her "Hales". He was one of the only people who deserved to call her that and she actually really loved the nickname, just not when it was used by people like Chris Keller.

Nathan heard her pretty laugh that he loved in response to his statement. "What's up, Haley?" He asked.

Haley was staring intently at the picture of her, Nathan and Jamie on one of their side tables. "Um," she started, snapping out of her daze and looking around the room. "well, um, I was about to take Jamie to the movies and then Chris rings our doorbell. Then-"

"Chris knows where we live?-" he asked out loud. "…Wait, continue." He said, caring more about her story.

She gave a brief, nervous laugh before continuing. "He just looked so hopeless... like... like a little puppy dog, Nathan. He was all like, 'Chris Keller wants to change and not drink tonight and you can help me.'" She said in an attempted manly voice that Nathan just found amusing. "So, I was all like, 'Oh, yeah, sure, just waltz right in here and sit next to my six year old son who likes to repeat everything people say.'" She said in a higher, attempted girlier voice (even though she was imitating herself), that just had Nathan laughing to himself. "What am I supposed to do, Nathan? I'm sorry, I really am."

"Tell him not to go in our fridge?" he suggested.

"Huh?"

"Well, I just bought all of those groceries and I'm willing to bet that they will be gone soon if Chris Keller finds them."

"Um, yeah… okay." She said while frowning and really looking hard around her room to make sure that this wasn't a dream. "Nathan, I'm confused."

"Look, Haley, I love you. I trust you. I sure as hell don't trust him, but I'm willing to bet that being with Chris Keller has been painful for you in the last few days and I'm sorry that I'm not there to smarten him up. I've been thinking the last few days about us and if you're okay with him being there, then I'll put up with it. You let him in, Hales, you must be putting up with him well. Just because I don't trust him, doesn't mean I don't trust you when you're with him." Nathan told her, but not easily. He truly trusted her, he just wasn't sure if Jamie should have to deal with him too.

She was really hoping that he'd disapprove so that she'd have had a reason to kick him out. "I don't want him here." She said.

"Well, get rid of him then. He's a big boy; he should be able to take care of himself. He can go screw one of his model dates or something."

"Yeah." She said, now looking at the box through their open closet doors that contained the pictures of her on tour. "You're right, he could… but, he came here tonight so that he wouldn't. I'm going to go, Nathan. I love you, I really do… and thanks."

"I love you, too, Haley. Tell Jamie I love him, too. Good luck, really, good luck. I'm sorry I'm not there."

"Me too." She agreed. They exchanged their goodbyes again and she hung up and left her room.

"Jamie!" She called at the top of the stairs. "Come to your room, I want to talk with you."

Jamie quickly got up from the couch. He was really thankful to have a reason not to have to sit by Chris. Unlike their previous conversations, they hadn't talked much. Chris would occasionally try to make conversation by commenting on Jamie's sneakers or saying that he, too, enjoyed watching _Dora the Explorer_. When Jamie was out of site, Chris, of course, took it as a good opportunity to find something to eat. He hadn't eaten dinner yet.

"Yes, Mamma?" he asked as he walked in his room.

Haley smiled sadly to her son, who, moments before, was excited about the night they would be having. "Jamie, listen," She started. "I know you were excited about tonight and, I promise, we _will_ go to the movies soon, but-"

"Mom!" Jamie said, pouting because of his disappointment.

"I know, baby." She pouted back at him with sadness. She, too, was disappointed with the turn out of the night.

"Why can't he come with us? Or go away!?"

"Jamie, we'll have to make it a movie-night-in." She said. She knew that going out in public with someone of Chris Keller's status would likely create rumors. She wouldn't risk that for her family. "Why don't you put on your pajamas and come downstairs, okay? It won't be so bad." She said the last part both to convince Jamie and herself.

"Okay, Mamma." He said sadly.

Haley looked into his eyes while stroking his chin with her fingers. "I'm sorry." She said.

"It's okay, Mamma." He said. She then left him to go back downstairs.

Haley valued her family, she really did. She tried hard not to put them in harms way. She knew that she probably wasn't right to let Chris into their home, but she believed enough in herself that she could keep the situation under control as long as Chris didn't decide to pull out his double personality. She for sure wouldn't have let someone like Quentin Fields near Jamie when she had first met him, but he proved to change a great deal under the influence of her. Also, Jamie wouldn't exist if she hadn't changed Nathan. Maybe she trusted people too much, but in the end, they had all made it worthwhile. She had seen the better sides of Chris and so she knew that it was there. The outcome of tonight would just depend on whether or not that side of him came out. Of course, when she went to check on Chris in the living room, he was eating the nachos in front of him that she knew were from the contents of her kitchen and she knew Jamie wouldn't have made.

She walked over to him and frowned at him for a moment. He looked up and smiled.

"Hey! I made us some nachos. I'm surprised you had soy cheese. There's also more than enough for three!" He exclaimed.

"Okay, this whole double act thing you're doing? It stops now, you understand? First of all, you don't go into other people's fridges and use half of the contents- even if the result does smell kind of… good. Second, my son is upstairs moping around because you dampered our plans tonight, so you better make this worthwhile. If you say _anything_ to him that's not appropriate, I _will_ kick you out, okay? I-"

"I made the food for all of us, Hales. I knew you have a thing for cheesy-"

"Okay, whatever." She said, the smell of the nachos fully took over her senses and made her mouth betray her mind. "Minus the nachos, you're an ass. And calling me 'Hales' is not going to change my mind about that. You're in _my_ house now- Nathan's too. Remember the whole 'Oh, Nathan, you're so muscular!' comment you made at your charity thing? Yeah, well, they're real. So, don't call me 'Hales' in my house or do anything else worse than that."

Chris looked up at Haley with a look of regret in his eyes. "You said you had plans before I came?" He asked.

"Yeah, Jamie and I were going to see a movie." She said, calming down.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry. I can go if you'd like."

"No, no, you asked for my help. I'm giving it to you, but you have to be willing to accept it, like, fully."

"I know. I'm really grateful, like, really, Haley." He said truthfully.

"Yeah, don't disappoint me." She said while sitting down next to him. She was tired of the conversation and didn't want to talk anymore. She called for Jamie to hurry up and come downstairs so that it couldn't continue. Jamie was not deaf, he had heard bits of his mother talking to Chris and figured he should stay near the stairs, but he didn't let it bother him. He came downstairs and sat closely next to his mother with Chris on the other side of him, but much further away on the couch. He slowly became comfortable as Haley started massaging his head with one hand, bringing him closer to her.

***

The movie was about an hour in when Chris turned his head to see both Jamie and Haley asleep. Jamie was lying in her lap and she had her head tilted to the side. He got up, turned the TV off, and put a blanket over them. As he turned to leave the home in peace and silence, he took another look at the pair and a smirk lit up his face. The importance of this smirk was not in the smirk itself, however, but in the way it connected to his eyes. If someone in the room was to be cognizant, he or she may have noticed the glint of admiration that was behind the blues his eyes were and concluded that it was not a smirk, but indeed a subtle, but true smile that lit up his face.


	7. Hippos, Beatles and Clowns, Oh my!

**Author Note:** If you're wondering, my new best friend, Writer's Block, had a lovely little visit with me. I was not busy at all and so we both had a lot of time to hang out and get to know each other better. We watched movies, ate good food and thought about some important and non-important things. However, he/she's is gone now and he/she did not say when or if he/she is coming back. We'll see.

Also, I have decided to not follow along with the story lines that happened after 6.19 because I have experienced myself being bored while reading recaps of what's happened in the show in other fics. I was originally going to add everything in there and just make the story lines now involve Chris, but I didn't want to rewrite the Peyton car crash, the Nick Lachey thing, the Jamie Oppenheimer School thing, etc. I actually started writing that last one about Jamie and thankfully deleted it. This would have been the chapter where the car crash would have happened also. That's not to say that some of the same things won't happen though, but the bigger stuff that would take away from this story and involve rewriting another story, won't happen. Yay.

naleyy- Thanks for your review! It's good to hear that, actually. I change the description, like, every other week and I've changed the title, too. I'm never sure about those two things. Maybe I'll tweak or just delete that beginning Author's Note in Chapter 1 LOL.

I've also decided that I don't like my current description. Expect that to change again. Surprise!

ReeseHolden- About the Public Enemies, don't worry, I totally agree with you! I was actually planning on changing the actor's name from Johnny Depp to something else, but I guess I forgot to do that before I published it. When I was getting up to righting that point, the preview for the movie was on TV and I was just like, "OMG, Johnny Depp in a mustache with a gun! I _have_ to see that!" There was a reason why I didn't actually say a title of a movie. Shia Lebouff is an awesome suggestion to change it to though. Maybe I'll do that when I go back to edit the past chapters for the zillionth time.

War on Joypiter & Jewels.o'xo, thanks for your comments also. I'm really glad to hear you're enjoying the story.

**Please, keep the reviews coming you guys! I love to hear from you. Also, thanks again to people who've subscribed/favoured.**

Now, enough babbling(sorry about that)... The actual story:

* * *

**-7-**

_She had never seen a hippopotamus so small. In fact, she had never seen a hippopotamus at all. Whenever she had the chance to go to the zoo in the city from the time she was a little girl, something always stopped her from seeing one. The hippopotamus would be giving birth, dead, too far away from the entrance, or any other story one could think up of. Every time she went to the zoo, it was another story. It may have been bad timing or it may have just been that she was just never meant to see one in her life at all. _

_Except for now. Only, this hippopotamus seemed too small to be true. She only saw its behind. Maybe it wasn't even a hippopotamus? It wasn't moving. That must have meant something. Or rather, it wasn't moving it's limbs or joints, but something else was moving it. It went up and down and up and down. She looked around and noticed other strange animals going up and down. She looked down and saw a pig's head. She was riding a pig. Why was she riding a pig? When she looked further away from the various animals, she saw a face. _

_It was an awful face mostly covered with white and its lips were stretched so far she thought she cringed. Not to mention, they were an ugly bright pinkish red. The lips were moving. It was singing. It disappeared. Where did it go? Then it appeared again, only to once again disappear. _

"Blackbird singing in the dead_-"_

_She knew the song without having the chance to hear the full line. The man disappeared again before he could finish it. Nathan liked it when she sang that song. Why was this awful looking man singing a song they enjoyed? He appeared again. Was that Brooke? They disappeared. They appeared again, flashing golden rings. Wedding rings? Oh God, Brooke married this man with his colourful hair and huge ass feet? _

_The next time they appeared, the man was holding on to Jamie. _

"What is he doing with my son?" _she thought. _"Why isn't Brooke stopping him?"

"_Jamie!" she called. She jumped off of the frozen pig, but lost her balance. The floor was moving. It wouldn't stop. What the hell was this?_

_Jamie, Brooke and the man kept disappearing and appearing again. _

"_Jamie!" another voice called. It was Deb riding on a frozen zebra. The song kept playing, only the man wasn't singing it any more. It sounded more like Paul McCartney this time. The music was now coming out of the speakers from the circular wall on the left and the mysterious man could only be seen laughing at her. Brooke looked at her worried when the man was distracted by his own laughter. _

"_We need to jump off!" she, herself, said._

"_You can't jump off, the mechanic will go crazy!" yelled Lucas on a frozen elephant. _

"_Lucas?" asked Haley, realizing him being there as well as Deb. "What are you doing here?"_

"_We need to get Jamie back!" Lucas replied._

"_Jamie!" Deb yelled._

"_Jamie!" she called herself._

"_Haley!" yelled Lucas._

"_What?" she yelled back._

"_Jamie!" Lucas yelled without answering._

"_Jamie!" yelled Deb._

"_Jamie!" she joined in, again._

"Jamie!" yelled Deb, coming into the living room and spotting the mother and son sleeping on the couch.

"_Oh God, my neck."_ Thought Haley. _"How the hell did we end up sleeping on the couch?"_ Jamie was still breathing deeply while sleeping in her lap. Realizing this, she thought,_"I bet that was the reason behind the up and down merry-go-round. Of course, the clown just had to be there."_ She looked up and saw Deb staring at her as she was finally coming out of her thoughts and becoming more aware of her surroundings.

"Hi, Nanny Deb." Said Jamie, barely opening his eyes to talk.

"Deb? What time is it?" She asked, not bothering to think about where Deb ended up the night before.

"Oh, seven thirty. So it's early for a Saturday, but when I couldn't find Jamie in his room, well, I started panicking only to find him here… with you." She smiled at them, her relief coming to her.

"Yeah, okay. What are you doing waking anyone up this early?" Asked Haley.

"What do you mean? Don't you remember? Today is _Saturday._"

"Hey, sis'." Said Lucas, coming into the room. "And _hello_ my little man James!" He said, acknowledging the half-asleep boy on top of Haley.

Jamie only groaned in response. The man behind the voice was not registering in his brain at that moment and he didn't feel like opening his eyes to look and find out who it in fact was.

"Hey Luke. How's Peyton?" said Haley, smiling at her brother-in-law.

"Oh, you know, asleep, as always at 7:30..." He responded and he did take into account the way Haley's face scrunched in dissatisfaction at the said time. "What's the reasoning behind the couch sleeping, anyways?"

"It's a long story that I haven't quite figured out yet." Said Haley, wondering how everything happened the way it did.

"Okay. Well, I hope you don't mind me being here right now."

"No, no, it's okay. It's not like I need to worry about space around here or anything." She looked around at her huge house. "It's been kind of lonely around here lately."

"Nothing a good friend can't fix. What's the plan for today?"

"It would be nice to go back to sleep and later, maybe, go grocery shopping?"

"We should go to the movies this time!" Said, Jamie, now becoming awake and butting into the adult's conversation.

Lucas laughed at Haley while agreeing with his nephew. "That sounds good- all suggestions, although, I kind of drank a lot of coffee once I woke up. I don't see sleeping happening anytime soon for me."

"Okay."

"Pancakes?" Deb butted in after being silent.

All three agreed to that suggestion. What better way was there to start off their day?

"I think I'll go get dressed." Said Haley, looking straight at Jamie to suggest that he should too.

As the two got up to go upstairs, Lucas and Deb were left alone in an awkward silence.

"So, I guess I'll go get started then?" Asked Deb, not really sure of what to say to Lucas.

"Sounds good." He smiled at her.

"Okay." She responded and walked into the kitchen.

Once the food was ready and Haley and Jamie had come back downstairs, fully dressed, the past and present Scotts all sat down to eat.

"I was scared when I couldn't find you two this morning. If I'd had known you were sleeping on the couch, I would have moved you." Said Deb.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Deb. If I'd had known we'd be sleeping there, I would have moved us too." Responded Haley.

"Yeah. How did that happen, Haley?" Asked Deb.

"I think Chris left us there when he left and he didn't want to disturb us when we fell asleep early in that awfully boring movie." Said Haley, thinking it was sweet, but kind of annoying since the result of the position she slept in was a tense pain in her neck. She figured she was going to have to look one direction for the rest of the day. The other directions would all hurt too much.

"Chris?" asked Lucas.

"Yup, he stayed to watch a movie with us last night…" Haley started, but then noticed the look on Deb's face. She was just staring at Haley, anger apparent in her features.

"Chris?" Asked Deb, making sure she had heard right.

"Yes. Chris." Haley confirmed.

"He made us nachos!" said Jamie who didn't like staying silent or the tense direction the adult's conversation seemed to be going.

"Did he, Jamie?" Asked Deb who didn't take her concerned eyes off of Haley.

"He did." Replied Haley. She wasn't going to let Deb's concerns get the best of her at that moment. Deb may have had a tough time forgiving Haley for leaving Nathan for the tour, but she was not in the mood to convince Deb that Chris being there was all right. Haley remembered her older sisters teaching her that you're not supposed to tell your mother when you and your boyfriend had a fight because, if you do, you may get back together with your boyfriend, but your mother will never forgive your boyfriend for hurting you. That was sort of the case with Deb and Nathan and Haley, but time and understanding had healed those wounds. Deb was clearly the most messed up in the family and Haley especially had been one of the few people who had been good to her. Most importantly, she loved Nathan and Haley together. She was so good for him. Still, despite all of this, talk about Chris Keller was not something that was going to bring back happy memories in Deb. It was a weak spot; one that was never talked about.

"Oh." Said Deb who was making plans to talk to Haley about it later.

"These pancakes are delicious, Deb." Said Lucas who was just as confused about the Chris situation as Deb. He, too, planned on talking about it with Haley once they were alone.

"Thanks, Lucas." Said Deb as she smiled.

"We're running low on syrup. I'll go get some of the _Aunt Jemima_ in the fridge." Said Lucas when he noticed Deb's homemade blueberry pancake syrup was running out.

"Thanks, Luke." Said Haley with a smile as she watched Lucas pull the bottle out of the fridge.

"No problem," He said, soon reaching for the cordless phone that was ringing and handing it right to Haley. She nodded in thanks.

"Hello?" She answered after she pressed the "talk" button. "Oh, hey! What are you doing up so early?" She said as she started getting up from the table and smiling at her family to excuse herself as she walked outside of the room to be in private.

"Who was that?" asked Jamie.

"I'm not sure, bud." Said Lucas to the little boy. "Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

"So, how's Peyton?" Asked Deb.

"Oh, she's doing great." He said, lying. The truth was, Peyton had a condition called Placenta Previa. He and Peyton were just not saying anything about it yet.

"That's good." She said. Lucas just nodded and smiled. "So, Nathan's playing tonight." He continued, looking at Deb while Jamie played with his food.

Before Deb could say anything, the group at the table heard Haley talking in the distance and they all went silent to listen.

"Yes! Oh, that's wonderful!" She exclaimed. "Okay, I love you too. Yes, goodbye." As soon as she was done talking, her footsteps could be heard coming back to the kitchen. Lucas was pretty sure he could expect it to be Nathan she was talking to; he was just wondering what it was that was so wonderful.

"What, mama?" Asked Jamie as she came back into the kitchen.

Haley smiled at her son right as soon as he asked the question. "How about we go see daddy after all tonight, Jamie?"

"Okay!" he replied, excited.

"Haley, what's going on?" Asked Lucas who had planned to be with Haley that day, but knew that he couldn't leave Tree Hill for those plans.

"That was Taylor. She's running a marathon in Charlotte tomorrow and she'll be there tonight!"

"Taylor? As in, 'Taylor James' Taylor?" Asked Lucas.

"Wow, people come back in packs, don't they?" Asked Deb to herself. She figured it wasn't going to be for the better.

"Yes, my sister. Taylor!" exclaimed Haley, answering Lucas. She was clearly very excited about seeing her.

"Aunt Taylor!" Said Jamie. "Mama-"

"Yes, I'm sorry I didn't let you talk to her, baby, but she was in a rush." She tapped his nose, causing him to scrunch his face. He just smiled after. He was just as excited as his mama.

"Lucas, I know we had plans, and you can come with us! But, I just-"

"I know, Haley." He responded sincerely. He was just happy for Haley to have another old family member around. "I can't come this time, but tell her I say hi."

"Will do."

"When are you leaving, then?" Asked Deb.

"Oh, soon, I guess. We'll want to actually _see_ Nathan off the court today too. Of course, the more time we can see Taylor, the better as well." Haley was now looking at the ceiling in front of her, no longer concentrating on the people around her. She was obviously planning and visualizing the day and what clothes to bring.

"Well, in that case, I guess I'll be getting ready then!" Haley said once she was out of her thoughts. "Lucas, you can stay around awhile if you'd like. I-"

"No, no. That's okay." He smiled at everyone before getting up. "Peyton's probably awake right now and it's a good idea to spend a free day with her. That is, until she goes to work later. What are you going to do about that, Haley?"

"Hm?" She looked at him, confused.

"Work."

"Oh, yes. I'll be calling Peyton or whoever I guess then."

"Or, I could just tell her."

"Yeah, of course!" She laughed, wondering why she didn't think of that before.

***

"Hello?"

"Hey, Chris? It's Haley."

"Oh, hey! Peyton told me that you wouldn't be in today. I'm actually taking the day off, too. So, no worries."

"Oh, yeah? That's good. I just wanted to tell you myself since I figured it would be rude not to."

"Okay. Well, thanks." He said. Haley could hear a smile in his voice.

"Listen, Chris, thanks for not being a jerk last night. I mean, after all the… well, you know…"

"You deserve it." He stated. Haley could hear more than just a smile in his voice now. She heard a woman speaking in the background.

"Chris, is that-"

"Um, I… I have to go, Hale…zzz…ly. I'll see you soon. I guess."

"Okay." She replied, but before being able to say goodbye, the dial tone had already starting ringing. He had hung up before she even had a chance to sound slightly annoyed at the almost "Hales". He was trying.


	8. This is Chaper 8

**Author's Note:** Well, howdy ya'll. I know it's been awhile, but hopefull you'll forgive me! Thanks again for comments, guys! Appreciated. Hopefully this story will continue to stay updated, hah. Let's see, this next chapter, well, I kind of accidentally published it before really reviewing it, but ah! What the heck, here it is. I hope you enjoy it! It's really a set-up.

Now, since I've somehow finally gotten back to writing, hopefully I can re-fix the past stuff. Sorry if any of you have forgotten what happened in the past of this story!

Much love.

* * *

**-8-**

"Nathan!" Haley yelled after her husband who was walking into the gym from the parking lot.

"Haley?" Nathan said loudly, turning around at the familiar voice. "Wh- Huh? Hi. What are you doing here!?" He said, a huge smile on his face as he noticed both Haley and Jamie walking up to him.

"We came to see you and Auntie Taylor, daddy!" Jamie exclaimed.

"Taylor?" Nathan asked Haley, his jaw almost reaching the pavement.

"Mhmm. We're going to be picking her up from the airport soon. During your practice."

"Really?" Said Nathan, "You got any more surprises for me?"

"Are the three of us not good enough-"

"I guess so," Nathan said slowly and confused, looking past Haley and Jamie and through the parking lot and to the latest car to arrive. "You brought _him?_" He asked, looking straight back to Haley. Nathan was a little disappointed now.

"Who?" Asked Haley as she turned around. _Chris. Chris?! What the..!? _Once again he was invading her thoughts. She looked back to Nathan showing an expression on her face to suggest that this was not planned. He understood and just shrugged and gave an irritated smile back.

"Momma, why's he here?" Asked Jamie.

"I don't know, baby." She said, looking down at him. "I'm going to go find out."

She walked over him, annoyance growing within her. She was starting to regret being so nice to Chris now. He didn't seem to stop interfering with her plans with her family. It was going to be a special weekend; one that rarely ever got to happen. By the time Haley had reached Chris, he was about halfway through the parking lot between his car and the building.

"Chris? What are you doing here? This is really taking it too-" She stopped her ranting when she sighted Leila. Great. Now she was going to have to censor herself around Chris _again._ People with arrogance such as Chris' should not have to be censored by, she decided. Leila, as sweet as she seemed to be, was getting in the way of Haley really getting feisty.

"I have Leila for the day." He said simply. "I was going to take her out, but I just wasn't sure where. When I saw you at the gas station before you left Tree Hill, it occurred to me, 'Why don't I just do what Haley's doing?' You're so good with Jamie, Haley. I thought that, if you think this is a good idea, it would be a good thing for Leila and I to do, too." He smiled, not thinking that this was a problem at all.

He was flattering, certainly, but despite the sweetness, he was still getting on Haley's nerves. She was looking away from him, processing all of this information. Finally and thoughtfully, narrowing her eyes, she asked, "What do you mean, 'at the gas station'?"

"Well, I saw you there when you were getting ready for the trip to come here. I already had Leila in the car and we were about to go find something to do. So, when I saw you, we just decided it would be a good idea to follow you here. I didn't realize the you were driving _this _far though. Otherwise, I'd have not come, but, by the time I realized how far we'd driven, I just decided it would take awhile to drive back and so I just decided, 'Why not just-"

"You '_FOLLOWED' _me?" She was in disbelief. Was he _serious_?

"Well, yeah. Is that a problem?" Chris was obviously confused. He thought he and Haley seemed to be growing a mutual bond; one that meant they enjoyed time together..

"Is that a problem? Is _THAT_ a problem?" Haley didn't care about Leila being there now; at least, her arms flailing up and down seemed to show that. "Chris, you can't just '_follow' _people. This is crazy. I'm sorry, but I just don't know what to do with you being here." She looked at him, realizing that he was just being sweet and for Chris, sweet was a big deal. Even if sweet for Chris was some form of stalking… which was an even bigger deal. Maybe it was selfish to exclude him now that he had already driven all the way to Charlotte?

"Yeah, it's not seeming like a pretty good idea anymore." Said Chris, making a hopeful, but regretful look on his face that involved a lot of teeth.

She looked at him, her eyes soft and a small smile on the side of her mouth. Chris was surprised when Haley started laughing.

"Wh- What's so funny, Haley?"

She was really cracking up. Her eyes opened to look up at him. "You."

He'd joined in with the laughing.

"What's so funny, Mama?" Asked Jamie, who had just came over with his father. Nathan was even more confused. He figured it would be a good idea to come over when he saw Haley's body language growing angry, but he didn't expect her to be laughing by the time he had come over.

"Chris is funny, baby."

This remark caused Chris took look straight at Nathan and shrug. He'd stopped laughing which probably was a good thing, seeing as he didn't know what he was supposed to be laughing at or what it was that he did that was so funny. Everyone around Haley seemed to be confused, looking at each other to see if anyone else knew what caused Haley to be laughing so hard.

Leila, who was standing behind Chris the entire time, likely cowering away from Haley, had taken notice of Jamie at that moment. She waved at him and he waved back. Both children then went back to listening to the adults.

"I'm getting late for practice, Hales." Said Nathan. He had to but into her unexplainable laugh attack to tell her.

Her laughing died down as she came back to reality. "Okay, babe. It was good to see you before the game. I'm glad we caught you. Plus, I guess we should be heading for the airport soon."

"Ah, yes. The airport." Said Nathan. There was so much going on, he'd forgotten about it. Looking down at Jamie, he started saying his goodbye. "Alright, Jamie, I'll be seeing you soon. You better give Auntie Tay a big hug for me, alright?"

"Yes, daddy. I'm _ex_tra lucky today. You're gonna win!"

"Well, alright, man!" Said Nathan, crouching down and nodding to Jamie while holding his hand out for him to high five. Jamie quickly reacted by slapping his hand, which gained smiles from all Scotts around. Nathan got up from his crouching position to look at Chris.

"Chris." He said, and that was all he said. Chris being there was very weird, but Haley seemed to be okay with it. At least, she was amused by it. Turning towards Haley, he wrapped one arm around her and rested it on her lower back. She gave him a quick kiss and smiled.

"Good luck with your game tonight, Nathan."

"You know I'll be playing extra hard." He winked at her. "I gotta impress my ladies."

She laughed while he wiggled his eyebrows. "Okay, babe. I love you."

"Love you too." He agreed. "You too, Jamie!"

"I love you too, daddy."

Nathan briefly laughed. "Well, alright then. Later." He waved to Chris and smiled to Leila before walking away and back to the building, leaving the four of them alone.

"So, uh, Jamie, this is Leila." Said Haley, trying to not have the four of them in an awkward silence.

"Hi." Said Jamie.

"Hi." She replied. "Leila's going to see a basketball game!"

"Oh." Said Jamie, thinking that it was weird she talked like Chris. He didn't know how to talk in third person.

"So, what was so funny?" Asked Chris, still confused.

"You're kidding, right? This is _ridiculous!_ I mean, you _followed_ me, Chris. You're needy. And you know what? The seats we have at the game are in a full section. You won't be able to sit by us. You came all this way, and for what? You didn't even know what was really going to happen!" She was smiling, causing Chris to now be annoyed with her.

"Are you serious?"

"Mhmm, but, you know, you could get seats somewhere else."

"Nah, that's okay. Basketball's not really my thing and… I really should have thought the whole seating thing through before deciding to come."

"You could, maybe, join us for dinner tonight? We can get you a chair for that."

"Dinner, huh? Chris Keller can do dinner."

"Okay then." Said Haley, nodding happily. "Anyways, until then, I'm not sure what you two can do. Jamie and I will see you until then. We've got stuff to do and we're losing time."

"Sounds good. Sorry I didn't think this through. I know it's kind of crazy and random. I'm just used to getting my way, I guess."

"Okay." She, once again, nodded at him. "Jamie, let's go hunny."

"Bye." Jamie said to Leila. "Bye, Chris." He said to him, too, remembering his good manners.

"See you guys." Said Haley, walking away with Jamie and waving.

"Bye." They both responded. They were now alone, once again not knowing what they could do with their time, but at least now, they had plans for later on.

***

Of _course _a plane with Taylor on it would be late. Late, late, late, late. What were Jamie and Haley to do? Nathan's game was soon going to start, but they told Taylor they'd pick her up. Specifically, they told her they would pick her up on time. But, storms will come, and as romantic as Haley's experiences found them to be, she wondered how this night would turn out with Nathan if she missed his game.

She and Jamie were sitting together, playing tic tac toe, 21 questions, contemplating the rabbit afterlife and doing everything else that came to their heads to pass the time. Finally, when Nathan's game was about to start, she decided that she wasn't going to be able to make it to the game. Taylor's flight arrival time kept changing a half hour later, and it took a half hour to make it to the basketball court. So, she knew what she had to do. She had to wait for Taylor, and her seats needed to be filled. After she told Jamie what the outcome of their circumstances was, she grabbed her phone and let it dial.

"Hey, Haley."

"Chris! Hey. Um, so I'm not going to be able to make it to the game tonight and I'm wondering-–"

"Are you asking me if I'd like to go?"

"Yes! And, since I don't have the tickets already and needed to pick them up at the stadium, you can easily get them if I call some people to tell them it's okay."

"Well, it's not like they won't recognize me if you just tell them to give them to Chris Kell—"

"Right… Well, anyways, so you think you'll do it?"

"Watch Nathan play basketball? Well, it would give me and Leila something to do. So, sure." He wasn't too keen on seeing the game. Actually, he knew seats would have been easy to get without Haley's help, but decided to take them seeing as he still wanted something to do with Leila and the offer was right in front of him.

"Okay, I'll make some calls. See you after dinner, too. Bye." _Kind of an abrupt goodbye, _she couldn't help but thinking, but at least she was pleasant.

"Bye! Thanks Haley!" And with that, Chris hung up the phone and left Haley smiling, thinking it was good to be called "Haley" by him.

While Haley made calls, Jamie played with a public toy set that was near by. It wasn't long after that Taylor's flight was actually _confirmed_ to be coming at it's set time. Forty-five minutes later, Taylor was there, hugging her and kissing Jamie all over his face.

"It's good to see you guys!" she said as she hugged Haley once again.

"We know." Jamie replied. Haley and Taylor looked at him, but all they did was laugh.

"So, Nathan's playing, you say? I'm sorry about the storm, guys, really…"

"It's okay. Nathan will understand. We're going to grab dinner after, but that won't be for another hour or so, what would you like to do until then?"

"Well, I'd like to go see the game if it's possible."

They went. Haley knew tickets were easy to get seeing as the games always had empty seats. The ones empty wouldn't be as good as the one's she'd had before Chris took them, but they'd suffice. They'd made it there about half way into the game and Haley had texted Chris at that time in the game telling him to just meet him at the hotel afterwards because they had reservations that they might not make if they'd met up afterwards. Plus, they came in separate vehicles anyways.

Haley, Jamie and Taylor all went to pick Nathan up after the game outside of his change room. One of Nathan's teammates saw Jamie and asked if he wanted to come inside the changeroom to see his father. He, of course, said yes and went in to see him, but Haley and Taylor stayed behind and sat on a couple of steps at the end of the hallway that went down to one of the stadium's entrances.

"So, how's the little squirt these days? Do you think he'll get the sporty gene like me or end up playing instruments like his mamma?"

"Well, I'd like to think both, but I—"

"Mmmm, BABY, hello!" an unfirmiliar voice greeted from behind the sisters.

"Can I help you?" Taylor sneered, looking at the man that was wearing the Jersey of Nathan's opposing team.

"Why, you sure can! This here sexy woman next to you, well, I see we're meant to be together!" He exclaimed, looking right at Haley.

"_Excuse_ me?!" Haley responded. Despite Nathan, Haley still had such an annoyance with jocks.

"Why, honey, don't be playing that game with me, I see my number right where I _really_ like my number to be." He was clearing looking right above her ass. It wasn't long before Haley pulled her shirt down to cover her tattoo, or tramp-stamp, and it also wasn't long before Taylor stood up, ready to defend her sister.

"Listen, here, buddy. My sister here, you know, she's married to number 12 on the other team, and uh—"

"Number _twelve! _ Well, that just don't make any sense, you know. Number twenty-three, you see, that's _my_ number, and seeing _my _number on that fine woman is driving me _crazy!_"

"Hey, twenty-three, really, I'm not interested in you."

"Man! Well, alright then," said the man, who was actually quite handsome. His eyes moved from Haley to Taylor, just then. "Say, _you _wouldn't mind going out with me, would you? Ya'll look real alike, actually. Wow. I'll definitely take you, too, and we can work this whole tattoo thing out together, later."

Taylor's defensive behaviour became noticeably flirty. "I wouldn't mind that, and, I could add a twenty-three to this lovely scorpian tattoo I have." She said, now showing him the tattoo. His eyes looked very pleased.

"_Taylor!_" Haley had to intervene. Really, Taylor just couldn't help herself could she?

"Well, my sister, you know, she's kind of bossy, but if you meet me at the Irish pub down the block tonight, I'll be there." Taylor said, while Haley grabbed her arm and started walking away, bringing her into the woman's bathroom to have a little chat.

When Haley and Taylor left the bathroom, Nathan and Jamie were near the entrance of the stadium, waiting for them. Luckily, number 23 of the opposing team was out of sight.

Haley walked up to her husband, giving him a kiss and after a little pout. "Hey, baby, sorry 'bout your loss."

He smiled at her and made a conscious effort to show that he was fine with his loss in front of his son. "It's all right, right Jamie?"

"Dad, Aunt Taylor!"

Taylor smiled at him and they exchanged a hug that was quite awkward. But, in front of Jamie and Haley, they knew it was best. "Why hello there number 12. I have to talk to you about changing that number later." She looked at her sister, but Haley simply rose an eyebrow at her.

The group continued to converse the way to their car, and awhile in their car, but after half way back to the hotel, the conversations got a little less easy. Finally, they made it to their hotel and got to their table which was in a small backroom that was more private. Nathan wanted to treat his family, and when he saw Chris Keller already sitting in the room, talking to Leila, he was a little disappointed, but continued his second(or however many)-chances behavior towards Chris and simply nodded while saying hello to the man.

Chris smiled at the group, and in doing so he said "Why, I was beginning you guys wouldn't— _Taylor!?_"

"CHRIS!??!" Responded Taylor. This was awkward.

"What?" Asked Jamie.

"Chris _Keller!_" She was not expecting him. "_and _Leila too!? Hey little one!"

"You know Leila?" Asked Haley.

"Yes." Taylor responded. "Um, actually, Nathan and Haley… Jamie, Leila… you wouldn't mind if I talked to Chris… _alone_… would you?"

"Why, I _guess_ not." Nathan responded. Haley was suspicious.

"Good." She said. "Chris, come with me, we need to talk."

The two left the room and went up to Chris' hotel room that he'd gotten, leaving Nathan, Haley, Jamie in curiosity with Leila.


	9. The Groom

*Looks around guiltily* Ummmm, hey, guys! Sorry it's been awhile. Yes, the update's a surprise to me too. Believe it or not, I started writing this chapter months ago. And then I rewrote it. And then I rewrote it again. This is what is finally being published though. Thank God. I do hope you enjoy reading it!

Thanks ReeseHolden, pam211, lift-me-up and oth4evernaley for the reviews! Always nice to hear opinions! Sorry if I missed anyone.

* * *

**-9-**

"Do you think we should check up on them?" Nathan asked his wife. It had been about a half hour since Chris and Taylor had left and the group was waiting on their dinner to come.

"Are you kidding me?" was all Haley said. She didn't want to give her true thoughts on the matter in front of two children. Her imagination was giving her thoughts to fear what was going on in that hotel room. Both of them had promiscuous reputations and, apparently, a past together. Haley remembered Taylor calling Chris attractive back when she was in an insecure stage of her relationship with Nathan. Chris was the home wrecker in that time, and Taylor seemed to disapprove. What could they _both_ be doing knowing each other _and_ Leila in the way they seemed to?

"Okay. How about we wait a half hour and then go check on them?" he proposed.

_What, was a half hour the amount of time it took you and Taylor when you were- _ she had to stop herself from her thoughts. That wasn't fair. "Well, okay. If you watch the kids, I'll do it alone." She _really_ hoped she wouldn't catch them doing anything.

"I can do it if you—"

"No, it's okay."

He nodded. After forty minutes passed (the extra ten to be safe), Haley got up, now done with her dinner, and headed to find Chris and Taylor in Chris' room. Once there, she knocked, but feared what she might be walking in on.

Chris answered the door and greeted her. "Hey. Sorry, we were going to come down soon, but got a little caught up… I—" Haley took sight at Chris' current wardrobe. His shirt was unbuttoned, he had one dress shoe on and he was currently doing up his belt buckle. Disappointment quickly showed on Haley's face.

"Chris, this isn't a game. What are you doing here? I have to ask you to—"

"Leave?" Chris looked disappointed. He looked down at his wardrobe, realizing how he must look. "Haley… this looks really bad. I know, and I'm sorry, but I have to—"

"You have to _what,_ Chris? _Hm? _What on Earth could _you_ have to—"

"I have to go. Now." This was all Chris said before he slipped on his other dress shoe and was out the door, quickly walking towards the elevator. Haley was outraged and quizzically watched Chris leave the hotel floor. Had Chris and Taylor actually done what she thought they'd done? It was a bit ambiguous. Chris did seem disappointed with himself and the shirt he was wearing was not the one he wore to dinner. It was quite possible that Chris was just changing, and the outfit he was changing into was more formal than his usual attire. The question was, "why?" What did he have to be changing for? Also, where was Taylor?

Haley knew pondering this while Chris was well on his way to God-knows-where was inefficient, and decided a chase after him would be much more appropriate. The floor was too high for the stairs to be a quicker option, and so she pressed the elevator down button in hopes that it would be quickest. She made her way down to the main floor where she could only guess Chris was going.

When she got there, Chris as well as Taylor were nowhere to be seen. She quickly noticed the lobbyist and decided to ask him if he'd seen a tall, spikey haired man hurriedly leave the building. The lobbyist said he had, and that triggered Haley to run outside into the parking lot. When she got there, she couldn't see Chris's car anywhere. Nor could she see her own. Her confusion was interrupted when the sliding doors of the hotel opened for a little six-year-old boy that called for her.

"Jamie!" she ran up to him. After hugging him at once, she questioned, "Where is your father?"

His response was that Nathan followed Chris' car, and that Taylor and Leila had both gotten in the car with Chris. This didn't make any sense to her. She decided calling Nathan would be her best bet in finding some answers.

"Haley!" he answered. "Listen, sorry I left you without saying anything. I just saw Chris headed for the door with Taylor and Leila following and knew something was up. I asked them where they were going, but they said they couldn't say. So, I thought I'd get Chris back for following us earlier and see what really is up with—"

"Nathan!" she responded. "You're crazy. Don't you think it's a little mu—"

"Hales, I'm gonna do what I have to do to make sure letting Chris stay around my family is worth it. Now, I'm not gonna stay on my cell phone because it's dangerous, especially when I'm following Chris who's speeding. So, I'll call you when I know what's up."

"But—"

"Hales, relax. Take care of Jamie tonight. I love you both. Goodnight."

Nathan had hung up before Haley could respond, resulting in Haley sighing. She felt powerless, but she was happy to be with Jamie.

It was twelve twenty-three when Nathan passed the sign that said "Welcome to Columbia, South Carolina." He was exhausted and had no idea where he was headed. The city traffic, although not at it's heaviest, made it hard to continue following Chris' car. About ten minutes after passing the welcome sign, Nathan had lost them. Tired from the day, Nathan decided to check into a hotel before it was too late to check in. He finally found one, and before falling asleep decided it was best to leave Haley a text: "Im in a hotel in columbia sc. Lost Chris and Taylor. Love you."

Nathan awoke the next morning slightly frustrated. He had no idea what he was doing. He texted and called Chris and Taylor several times, but of course neither answered. Haley said it would be best to just come back to Charlotte so that he, Haley and Jamie could all make their way back to Tree Hill. Nathan agreed, and checked out of his hotel so that he could make his way back to his family. However, on his way out of the city, Nathan got a call. It was Chris.

Chris apologized for the night before and gave him an address to go to in Columbia. He said he knew Nathan was following them last night, and that he didn't mind. He didn't say much more and didn't make any small talk with Nathan. In fact, Chris sounded more exhausted and tired than Nathan did. Nathan texted Haley about his new destination and that he didn't know when he'd make it back to Charlotte.

The address Chris gave him was now in Nathan's GPS system, and was leading him to a suburb. The houses looked like they were made in the 70s and were all in mixed conditions. Most were well kept and groomed, but a few more rustic houses intruded on the neighbourhood. The address of Chris' led him to a brick bungalow that was one of the less groomed lots in the area.

He wasn't sure what Chris or Taylor would be doing here, but he knew that he was in the right place when he saw Leila sitting on the front porch. She was watching two other children play with a puppy on the lawn, but rather disconnectedly.

"Hi, Leila," Nathan started as he walked up to her, "How are you today?"

She didn't look up at him. "I got a new puppy," she responded unenthusiastically.

"Oh, really! How about that? What did you name it?" asked Nathan. The girl, however, still didn't look up, and this time she didn't respond either. Nathan tried getting the girl to talk again, but was interrupted when Chris came out of the screen door at the top of the porch.

"Nathan, hey," he said with melancholy.

Nathan didn't expect Chris to be acting this way. It was more than unusual, and the unfamiliarity was uncomfortable for Nathan. "Chris? Are you okay—"

His cliché question was interrupted by Chris saying "I'm glad you came." He then directed his attention at Leila. "Leila, dear, Uncle Chris is gonna go inside, is that okay?"

She didn't respond, she only continued to watch the two children play with her new puppy. Chris motioned for Nathan to follow him inside, and so he did.

"So how is she your niece?" Nathan asked, trying to make small conversation as they walked through the living room of the unfamiliar house.

"Good question, Nate," Chris responded. With that response, Nathan gave up asking questions before following him into a dated, wood-paneled walled kitchen where Taylor sat at a table. Taylor looked up from her cell phone and smiled tiredly at Nathan before looking back down. Nathan couldn't help but notice how red her eyes were. They looked as though she hadn't gotten sleep and that she had recently been crying. Chris also had the same look, he noticed.

Chris offered Nathan a glass of juice or milk, but he rejected as he figured Chris really didn't need to be helping him in his current state. As Chris sat down at the kitchen table, Nathan took notice of all of the pictures on the refrigerator. In one of them was Taylor and a female he didn't know. The unfamiliar girl was dressed in a wedding gown, holding a bottle of opened champagne. Taylor was wearing a beautiful, baby blue gown, holding an empty champagne glass proudly. The two females had an arm around the other, obviously posed for the camera.

"Nathan," Chris started, tiredly and not minding Nathan's curiosity. "We know this is strange, but I thought you should know what's—"

Nathan was taken aback when Chris burst into tears. Taylor tried comforting him, rubbing his back while also showing signs of pain.

"Chris, Taylor, I—what happened?" Nathan tried.

Taylor got up from her chair and walked over to Nathan by the refrigerator. She pulled a photo off of the fridge as she wiped her eyes.

"These are Leila's parents," she managed to say. She showed the photo to Nathan who recognized the female in the photo as the bride from the other photo. The man in the picture wasn't recognizable, however.

"I—okay," said Nathan, confused.

"Were," Chris commented, quietly. The quiet comment did not go unheard. After hearing it, Taylor instantly started crying and ran out of the kitchen into a nearby bedroom. "Sorry," he said, regret apparent in his voice as he looked up in the direction Taylor had left.

Nathan didn't know what to say. "Chris, I'm sorry. This is all—"

"I know," he said. "Listen, you asked how I'm Leila's uncle? Well, I'm not."

"Oh."

"Not biologically," he said with a raspier-than-usual tone. "We just call me that. Same with "aunt" for Taylor. We figure we're family enough; Braden, Diana, Taylor and I—sorry," he sighed, "you don't even know who I'm talking about." Chris got up with that statement, unenergetically, and headed towards outside, leaving Nathan confused as to what to do. Nathan felt unwelcome all of the sudden, not that he'd ever felt part of what was happening before. He decided to look for Taylor to see if she was alright, but when he found her, he walked in on her being held by and older woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" said Nathan. The older woman looked up at Nathan and gave him a welcoming, but worried smile.

"Hi," said the old woman, frowning empathetically as she looked down at Taylor. "My name is Daniella," she said while Nathan walked over to sit next to Taylor.

"Nathan," he responded, smiling gently and cautiously at the old woman for a moment before turning his attention to Taylor. He sat next to her for a moment, rubbing her back soothingly while she cried.

"Interesting circumstances to meet in," Daniella commented. "Sorry—"

"DADDY!" the three could hear Leila yell as she ran down a hall. When she became visible through the bedroom door, she was smiling expectantly. Shortly after, Chris tiredly appeared behind her.

"Daddy's not coming back, Leila," Nathan could see the heart-broken expression on his face.

"—Yes he is!" she screamed. "Yes, he _is! _He was _just here… _he was just here…" Leila's words caused her to start crying uncontrollably. Chris joined in also while he picked Leila up to hug her. Taylor surely didn't stop, and Daniella shook her head while beginning to produce tears of her own. Nathan felt tears in his eyes as he looked at the family around him.

A few more moments passed. Nathan finally stood up to gently declare that he should call Haley. Taylor looked up at him, looking like she wanted to say something, but instead just smiled sadly.

Neither Nathan nor Haley knew what was going on. Haley offered her best wishes and told him to watch out for all of them, and that he should call if he needs anything. Nathan noticed the puppy was barking in the back yard and headed to the door to help him inside. On the way there, however, he ran into Chris.

"Sorry—okay, I never told you…" Chris started. "Let's talk in the living room."

Nathan followed him and sat on a couch that was parallel to the chair Chris sat in.

"Chris, whatever happened, man, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah," Chris responded, distractedly. "Nate…" he started before pausing for a moment. "Leila's father—Braden—well, he just passed away last night. Alcohol poisoning. Apparently he's an alcoholic… was," he paused again.

"Chris…" said Nathan, concerned.

Chris started laughing bitterly. "Of course he was an alcoholic!" he frowned, tears welling in his eyes. "You know, I wasn't around him as much after… oh God. Nathan, you gotta understand the real Braden. The Braden that couldn't wait to have Leila born, the Braden that… well, Diana thought—_knew—_was special." Chris laughed once, this time more reminiscently.

Nathan wasn't sure if he should ask who Dianna was, he wasn't sure what to do at all really. He just sat there, listening, trying to give support. They sat in silence for awhile, both men looking thoughtful and to themselves. Nathan thought it made most sense for Dianna to be the bride in the photo.

"Nathan," Chris began, "you should probably go back to Haley. I'm not sure how long this is going to go on for here."

"Are-are you sure?"

He nodded, thankful for his concern.

A week had passed since Nathan left that unfamiliar house. Nathan still wasn't sure who it belonged to or really what was going on. He, Haley and Jamie went about their business, calling Chris and Taylor to make sure things were okay. The latest call between Nathan and Chris was from Chris this time. Nathan always had to call him. Chris told him to meet him at an address, and so Nathan agreed.

The address took him to a house; a giant, excessive house. It was in town, close to Brooke's old neighbourhood where she grew up.

"So, tell me, Nate, do you think there's room for a dog in here?" Asked Chris. He was appearing happy, but Nathan felt like it was just Chris coating himself with a fakeness.

"What happened to Leila?" asked Nathan. "Shouldn't she have the dog?"

Chris looked at him for a moment, grinning widely. "Oh, she'll be here soon enough."

* * *

** AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't drive and talk on a cell phone people!


End file.
